Promises, Blames & Scandals: Election 2011 Campaign Heats up!
Leaders of all major political parties, featured here
(L-R) Stephen Harper (Conservatives), Michael Ignatieff (Liberals), Jack Layton (NDP), Gilles Duceppe (Bloc Quebecois) and
Elizabeth May (Green Party) have unveiled their election platforms and are busy in visiting ridings across the country to secure
votes. The federal elections will be held on May 2. Remember to vote!

Fresh clashes in southern Yemen

Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes have opened
fire during protests in the city of Taiz in southern Yemen, a day
after clashes there killed 15 people, witnesses said. Hundreds
of security troops attacked tens of thousands of protesters,
witnesses told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday, adding
that plain-clothed policemen were wielding bats and daggers.
They said several people had been hurt, but there was no word
yet from medical sources on casualties. Protesters responded
to the attack by hurling rocks at the security forces. Our special
correspondent, reporting from Yemen, quoted the opposition
that the ruling party had called on their supporters to rally in
Taiz. The supporters marched towards "Liberty Square". "They
tried to enter the square but anti-government protesters
stopped them after which clashes ensued. The police then
opened fire and lobbed tear gas shells towards the protesters
inside the square. "As events are unfolding, it is strengthening

their (the protesters) resolve." In Sanaa, pro-regime supporters marched from the presidential area towards Change Square
and the headquarters of General Ali Mohsen, a key military
leader who recently threw his weight behind the tens of thousands of protesters calling for Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's
president, to quit. "They were on foot and in cars. As they
approached the gate of the (Mohsen) HQ, people in one of the
cars opened fire on the soldiers as well as the pro- and antigovernment supporters who were gathered there," added our
correspondent. "Ali Mohsen's soldiers, loyal to the prodemocracy protesters, responded with fire. We are hearing that
one person got killed, 26 others injured of which four are in a
critical condition. "It is a clear indication of escalation; the
president is not backing down and the situation remains very
volatile - he seems to be increasing the security presence, not
decreasing it." The official news agency SANA said four people had been killed and 56 injured. Meanwhile, Yemen has
accepted an invitation by Gulf Arab states to hold talks on its
weeks-old political crisis in Saudi Arabia as a drive to oust
Saleh from his three-decade rule gathered pace. The Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) invited the Yemeni government
and opposition representatives for talks in Riyadh in a bid to
end the crisis, but a date has yet to be set. "We welcome the
GCC invitation and the government is ready to discuss any
ideas from our Gulf brothers to solve the crisis," Abubakr alQirbi, Yemen's acting foreign minister, told Reuters. Aides to
Mohsen said the general also accepted the call for talks in
Saudi Arabia. But leaders from the political opposition groups
have yet to respond, saying they would only give an answer
when they receive details of the proposed talks in Riyadh.
Source: Al-Jazeera

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Abdul Fatah Younis, the head of the Libyan
opposition's armed forces, has accused NATO of
acting too "slowly", or not acting at all, to protect
civilians in their fight against Muammar
Gaddafi, the Libyan leader. Younis' comments
came as the rebels were forced out of the oil
town of Brega in the country's east by a renewed
offensive launched by Gaddafi's forces. The
rebels were forced to retreat to Ajdabiya, ending
a stalemate over the last five days over who controlled Brega. Speaking at a press conference in
the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, Younis,
who was formerly the country's interior minister, said that NATO had "disappointed" the
rebels, even though it is helping them.
"Unfortunately, and I am sorry to say this, NATO
has disappointed us. My staff have been in contact with NATO officials to direct them to targets
that should protect civilians, but until now,
NATO has not given us what we need," he said.
In particular, Younis was scathing in his criticism
of the NATO response to events in Misurata,
where residents have been under siege from proGaddafi forces for the last 40 days. Younis said
that Gaddafi had contaminated the drinking
water, and that residents of the city did not have
access to basic supplies. "Civilians are dying
daily because of lack of food or milk, even children are dying. Even by bombing. If NATO waits
for another week, it will be a crime that NATO
will have to carry. What is NATO doing? It is
shelling some defined areas only," he said.
"When a large force of tanks, and even artillery,
is on its way to Benghazi, Ajdabiya or Brega, we
always inform NATO straight away. Because we
don't have such weapons. NATO's reaction is
very slow. By the time the information reaches
from one official to another until it reaches the
field commander, it takes hours. "Will these
forces wait for hours to bomb? No, they will go
into the city and burn it down. That is why I
want NATO to stand with us and support us,
otherwise I will ask the [opposition] National
Council to address this issue at the UN Security
Council." Younis said that rebel forces were providing NATO with the coordinates where proGaddafi forces were present, but they were slow
to act, allowing the forces to "enter a city, kill
everybody, burn it down and then leave the city"
before any action was taken. He also complained that NATO was not allowing the opposition to use the MiG fighter aircraft and helicop-

Continued on pg 6

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

British PM in Pakistan talks to
urge 'fresh start'
British Prime Minister David Cameron held talks in Pakistan on
Tuesday, seeking a "fresh start" in relations with Islamabad, nine
months after accusing it of turning a blind eye to terrorism.
In his first trip to the nuclear-armed Muslim country since taking office in May 2010, Cameron hopes to soothe tensions
caused by his remarks during a visit to India, as well as boost
cooperation on counter-terrorism and in Afghanistan.
The premier briefly visited Islamabad's Faisal Mosque, nestled
under the foothills of the Himalayas, before embarking on a
packed day of talks with high-ranking civilian and military officials, as well as opposition leaders.
"Let's today make a fresh start in our relationship. It is time for a
new step in relations between Britain and Pakistan and between
Britons and Pakistanis," Cameron was to tell an audience of university students.
"Let's make this the start of a new era in the relations between
our countries, our governments, our peoples," he was to add,
according to pre-released extracts of the speech.
"Let's clear up the misunderstandings of the past, work through
the tensions of the present and look together to the opportunities of the future."
During a trade visit to India last July, Cameron caused a diplomatic row by saying Pakistan could not be allowed to "look both
ways", promoting the export of terror while publicly working for
stability in the region.
President Asif Ali Zardari papered over the row in a visit to
London the following month, when he and Cameron said their
ties were "unbreakable".
Cameron was to repeat the message Tuesday and discuss with
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani what Pakistan is doing to
combat Islamist militants in the tribal belt on the Afghan border, and how they can cooperate more on security.
Britain's domestic intelligence chief, Jonathan Evans, said last
year that 50 percent of serious plots linked to Al-Qaeda in
Britain emanated from Pakistan's tribal areas, down from 75
percent two or three years ago.
Officials have attributed the fall to greater action against militants, but also to new threats coming from countries such as
Somalia and Yemen.

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Tuesday's talks also involve the head of Britain's MI6 spy agency,
John Sawers, and its military chief David Richards, as well as
Pakistan's army chief Ashfaq Kayani and head of intelligence,
Ahmad Shuja Pasha.
In an agreement to be signed by the two prime ministers, the
countries will agree to set up a centre to share expertise on
countering roadside bombs, which pose a major threat to British
troops in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan, where Britain has about 9,500 soldiers,
will also be discussed with British officials keen to build on what
they see as Pakistan's growing involvement in a process of political reconciliation there.
Cameron will also seek closer ties on development, trade and
cultural ties, before rounding off his day-long trip with a meeting with Zardari.
"We want a strong relationship with a secure, prosperous, open
and flourishing Pakistan," the British premier was to say in his
speech.
"We want that relationship for the long term. We want to work
to strengthen that relationship, now and in the future."
Cameron and Gilani would pledge to boost trade from £1.9 billion a year ($3 billion) to £2.5 billion a year by 2015, British officials said.
Cameron will also announce a new investment of up to £650
million over the next four years to get four million Pakistani
children into education.
The money will train 90,000 teachers, buy six million new textbooks and build or refurbish 8,000 schools.

China desires to invest in energy
sector of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: A ten-member Delegation headed by Cao
Guangjing, the head of Three Gorges Corporation, Chinese
state owned corporation dealing with construction of power
infrastructure met with the Federal Minister for Finance and
Economic Affairs, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the Ministry
here on Wednesday.
The President of the Three Gorges Project Corporation
briefed the Minister about his Company’s desire to work
closely with Pakistan for the development of Energy Sector
and in this regard showed the Chinese interest for investing $

10 to $ 15 billion for the immediate development objective.
In this regard the President of the Company said that they
have the required strong means and capability for investment
to develop power projects in Pakistan.
The Federal Minister for Finance welcomed the Chinese offer
and said that this is a beginning of a new era of cooperation
between Pakistan and China, and he is looking forward to
have a consensus on all issues including the problem of equity of all stakeholders of the Pakistan state craft in this manner.
Continued on pg 7

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

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Afghans continue to denounce Quran burning

Hundreds of people have taken to
Afghanistan's streets in fresh protests against
a Quran burning in the United States, as the
UN vowed a deadly attack on its staff would
not derail its work. At least two people were
killed and 20 others injured in Sunday's
protests, local officials said. Demonstrations
occurred in the main southern city of
Kandahar as well as Jalalabad, in the east,
officials said, as anger sparked by the burning
of Islam's holy book spread. In Kandahar,
one person was killed when protesters set fire

to a gas cylinder causing an explosion. Protesters also attacked a
police traffic booth, said Al Jazeera
correspondent Hashem Ahelbarra.
The protest in Jalalabad city was
peaceful, with hundreds of people
blocking a main highway for three
hours. They shouted for US troops
to leave and burned an effigy of
President Barack Obama before
dispersing, according to an
Associated Press photographer at
the scene. The Taliban said in a
statement emailed to media outlets
that the US and other Western countries have
wrongly excused the burning a Quran by the
pastor of a Florida church on March 20 as
freedom of speech and that Afghans "cannot
accept this un-Islamic act". Staffan de
Mistura, the UN's special representative in
Afghanistan said on Saturday that the deadly
attack on a United Nations compound in
northern Afghanistan will not affect the
world body's presence or work in the country. The attack "should not deter the UN
presence, activities in this country in this del-

icate and particularly crucial period," the
organisation's top diplomat said. De Mistura
flew to Mazar-i-Sharif to handle the aftermath of the attack, when protesters enraged
by the burning of a Quran by a radical fundamentalist Christian in the US overran the
mission and murdered seven foreign staff.
He told a small group of journalists in the
Afghan capital on Saturday that international
staff would be temporarily deployed to Kabul
until office was rebuilt. "Having discovered
that the office was destroyed, I have decided
to redeploy... temporarily to Kabul, 11 of our
international staff who otherwise would not
be able to operate, until we reconstitute a
new office. "This is not an evacuation," the
envoy told reporters, saying staff would
return as soon as a secure office was established in Mazar-i-Sharif. In an interview
with the Reuters news agency on Saturday,
Jones was unrepentant and defiantly vowed
to lead an anti-Islam protest outside the
biggest mosque in the US later this month.
Government officials in Pakistan and
Afghanistan have called for US authorities to
arrest Jones. However, his public criticism of

Islam and desecration of the Quran are
allowed under US laws protecting free
speech. Jones defended the Quran burning
and said the reaction in Afghanistan "shows
exactly what we're talking about". Two suicide attackers disguised as women blew
themselves up and a third was gunned down
on Saturday when they used force to try to
enter a NATO base on the outskirts of Kabul,
NATO and Afghan police said. At least 10
people were killed and 83 others wounded in
the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on
Saturday. Some protesters in Kandahar carried white Taliban flags and shouted slogans
including "long live the Taliban" and "death
to America." The spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province said the protest
was organised by the Taliban who used the
Quran burning in Florida as an excuse to
incite violence. Taliban denied any role in
the Mazar attack or Kandahar protests and
analysts warned against underestimating the
depth of anti-Western sentiment in much of
Afghanistan, after years of military presence
and many civilian casualties
Source: Al-Jazeera

Ottawa aims to limit
findings on detainees
The Conservative government is looking to limit the findings of an independent report into whether the Canadian Military Police knew that
detainees transferred to Afghan custody faced a substantial risk of torture.
The Justice Department went to court last week in a bid to curtail what
the Military Police Complaints Commission can include in its final
report, requesting the exclusion of evidence gleaned from key witnesses
such as former Afghanistan-based diplomat Richard Colvin. He alleged
last fall that the government turned a blind eye to warnings that detainees
were routinely tortured in Afghan facilities. “It’s a preemptive strike,” said
Paul Champ, the lawyer representing Amnesty International and the B.C.
Civil Rights Association on the detainee litigation. “They’re trying to put a
muzzle on the commission before it provides any independent comment.”
The commission, which has already faced several legal challenges and has
not even issued its interim report, held more than 30 days of hearings on
the Afghan detainee allegations — a hot-button issue that last fall threatened to the fell the Tory government. Then, the opposition charged that
the Conservatives were not forthcoming with thousands of pages of documents that could reveal what the government and top military officials
knew of the abuse. “The fact that they’re going to court shows either that
they’re nervous or that they’re not wanting to be accountable to the public,” said Bryon Wilfert, a Liberal MP seeking re-election in Toronto and a
member of the Commons defence committee conducting its own probe
into detainee abuse. “This demonstrates not only a lack of transparency
and accountability, but also a disrespect for what has been a very exhausting, very expensive process by the commission.” Over the course of two
days last week, the Federal Court heard arguments from Mr. Champ, the
Justice Department’s senior counsel, and a lawyer acting on behalf of the
commission, which is expected to issue its report sometime in the coming
months. Arguing on behalf of the government, Alain Prefontaine said the
report should be limited to what Military Police actually knew and would
have in its “effective control,” rather than what the police reasonably
should have known had it chosen to make inquiries. This request would
effectively exclude Mr. Colvin’s evidence, as his early warnings and reports
were sent to government superiors and top military officials — not directly to military police, Mr. Champ said. He argues that the information
was, indeed, within Military Police officers’ “means of knowing,” even
though the torture reports were not in their possession. He said that while
the detainee documents and testimony have already been made public
during the hearings, the government’s latest move would effectively “prevent an independent body from connecting the dots.” “This is completely
extraordinary — the law is overwhelmingly against this kind of tactic,” he
said. “I see it as a rather desperate attempt to try to curtail the report,
because if the report says anything negative about the conduct of the
Canadian Forces or the government, then it will reopen the issue.” Ron
Lunau, a spokesman for the commission, said the government’s request is
“premature,” and that it should “wait and see what the commission actually says, instead of speculating on what the report might say.” He said the
commission is working on an interim report, which will be sent for review
to senior National Defence officials before the final report is released. The
Department of National Defence referred inquiries on Tuesday to the
Department of Justice, which said it will not comment as the matter is
before the court. Mr. Champ said the court may well render its decision
before the May 2 election, although the final report is still months in the
offing.
Source: National Post

32 killed in UN plane crash in Congo
The UN Congo crash airplane kills 32 of the 33 people onboard. The United Nations plane was about to land in
Kinsasha, Congo when it crashed. Reports reveal that the plane was trying to land in rainy, windy weather, and that
it “landed heavily, broke into two and caught fire.” Source: AP

Ivorian leader under siege as
exit talks fail
Negotiations led by the UN and France aimed at securing the departure of Laurent Gbagbo, Cote d'Ivoire's
incumbent president, have failed, Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, has said. "The negotiations which
were carried out for hours yesterday between the entourage of Laurent Gbagbo and Ivorian authorities have
failed because of Gbagbo's intransigence," Juppe told parliament on Wednesday. It was not clear if Juppe was
simply formally filling them in on earlier events, or if they have tried again to coax Gbagbo out of his bunker.
Earlier in the day, forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the president-elect, stormed the residence where Gbagbo is
hunkered down. Patrick Achi, spokesman for Ouattara's parallel government, said troops had been ordered not
to kill Gbagbo. "Alassane Ouattara has given formal instructions that Gbagbo is to be kept alive because we
want to bring him to justice," he said. Issiaka Konate, the UK representative for Ouattara's party, the Rally for
Republicans, told Al Jazeera they have "not captured Gbagbo yet". "The situation is that he is inside a bunker
that has the capacity to house a few hundred people, so we are not sure how many he has with him," he said.
Gbagbo is still hiding and President Ouattara wants him seized and alive." The news came hours after Edouard
Guillaud, the French armed forces chief, said on Wednesday that Gbagbo's departure would come in "a matter
of hours". South Africa, Togo and Angola are possible safe havens for Gbagbo should he negotiate an exit from
his West African country, African Union (AU) sources said on Wednesday. Gbagbo, meanwhile, said it was not
his "aim to die" fighting Ouattara's forces and called for direct talks with his rival. "I'm not a kamikaze. I love
life. My voice is not the voice of a martyr, no, no, no, I'm not looking for death. It's not my aim to die,"
Gbagbo, speaking from his residence on Tuesday, told the French TV channel LCI. "For peace to return to
Ivory Coast, I and Ouattara, the two of us, have to talk." The UN and France, the former colonial master with
more than 1,000 troops in Cote d'Ivoire, had said Gbagbo's departure was being negotiated following a fierce
assault by Ouattara's forces. Juppe said the "only thing left to negotiate" were the conditions of Gbagbo's
departure. "We have asked the United Nations to guarantee his physical security and that of his family," Juppe
had told France Info radio on Wednesday. "This stubbornness is absurd. Gbagbo has no other solution anymore. Everybody has dropped him." After the evening newscast on Tuesday, Ouattara's private TV station
showed the movie "Downfall", which traces the last days of Nazi Germany from inside Adolf Hitler's bunker.
"He is holed up in the bunker in his residence so we will continue with the United Nations, which is handling
that, to put pressure on him so he accepts to acknowledge the reality," Juppe said. "There is only one legal and
legitimate president today, it is Alassane Ouattara and I hope that persuasion will win and that we will avoid
having to resume the military operations." Gbagbo had denied he was willing to surrender and rejected
demands he recognise Ouattara as the winner of last November's presidential runoff in the west African nation.
Source: Al-Jazeera

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

Nobel laureate Yunus loses legal
fight to keep job
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus lost his final court
appeal Tuesday to remain in control of the pioneering
microlending bank he founded nearly three decades
ago to lift Bangladeshis out of poverty. The ruling
capped a month long dispute between the government
and Yunus â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an outspoken government critic â&#x20AC;&#x201D; over
the right of the "banker to the poor" to continue as
managing director of the Grameen Bank. The battle
has sparked international concern and threatened to
dampen ties between Bangladesh and the United
States. Last month Robert Blake, assistant secretary of
state for south and central Asian affairs, visited Yunus
during a trip to Bangladesh, told reporters the U.S. was
"deeply troubled" by the situation and said that if no
compromise was reached "I think it will have an effect
on our bilateral relations." No compromise was
reached by Tuesday. "The appeal is dismissed," Chief
Justice ABM Khairul Haque said in his one-sentence
ruling at a crowded courtroom of the country's highest
court. Attorney General Mahbub-e-Alam said Yunus
can't hold the post any longer. Yunus was not in court.
Comments from him or Grameen Bank were not
immediately available. Yunus' lawyer Kamal Hossain
declined to comment. Bangladesh's central bank
removed the 71-year-old Yunus from the post last
month, saying he violated the bank's retirement rule.
The High Court upheld his removal and he appealed
then to the Supreme Court, his last legal option. Yunus
has said the dismissal was illegal and alleged that the
government was trying to take control of his bank,
which pioneered the practice of giving tiny loans to
alleviate poverty. His work spurred a boom in such
lending across the developing world, earning him and

the bank the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Yunus has long
had frosty relations with Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina. She was reportedly angered by Yunus' 2007
attempt to form his own political party, backed by the
country's powerful army. Hasina has accused Grameen
Bank and other microfinance institutions of charging
high interest rates and "sucking blood from the poor
borrowers." At the center of the court case was
whether Yunus was exempt from a banking law setting
the retirement age at 60. The central bank says its
approval was never sought for an exemption allowing
Yunus to stay. Grameen contends the central bank
implicitly approved because it raised no objections
when it audited Grameen. The microlending bank
currently has nearly 9 million borrowers in
Bangladesh, 97 percent of whom are women. Without
needing collateral to borrow, many use their small
loans to make ends meet or to start small businesses.
Source: Associated Press

Japan nuclear plant plugs highly
radioactive leak

Workers at Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power
plant on Wednesday finally stemmed a tide of radiation that was pouring into the Pacific and exacerbating
concerns over the safety of seafood. High levels of contamination have been measured at the shoreline of the
Fukushima Dai-ichi complex in recent days, prompting
the government to set limits for the first time on the
amount of radiation permitted in fish. While officials
have said the crack in a maintenance pit plugged early
Wednesday was the only one found, they have not
explicitly ruled out that radioactive water is leaking
into the sea from another point. Authorities insisted
the radioactive water would dissipate and posed no
immediate threat to sea creatures or people who might
eat them. Most experts agreed. Still, Japanese officials
adopted the new standards as a precaution. And the
mere suggestion that seafood from the country that
gave the world sushi could be at any risk stirred worries throughout the fishing industry. "Even if the government says the fish is safe, people won't want to buy
seafood from Fukushima," says Ichiro Yamagata, a fisherman who lived in the shadow of the power plant.
"We probably can't fish there for several years."

Fukushima is not a major fishing region,
and no fishing is allowed in the direct
vicinity of the plant. But experts estimate
the coastal areas hit by the massive wave
last month account for about a fifth of
Japan's annual catch. Radiation concerns
in the area intensified after the discovery
over the weekend of the crack, which photos showed water pouring out of and
splashing into the sea. Since then, workers
have raced to find a way to seal it, pouring
in concrete and injecting a mixture of
polymer, sawdust and shredded newspaper. Both failed. But on Wednesday
morning, Tokyo Electric Power Co.
spokesman Naoki Tsunoda said the injection of 400 gallons (1,500 litres) of "water
glass," or sodium silicate, and another
agent near a seaside pit appeared to be
successful. It was a rare bit of good news for the utility
that owns the crippled nuclear plant, located about 140
miles (220 kilometres) northeast of Tokyo. But highly
contaminated water continues to pool around the
complex. Tsunoda said officials were investigating
whether the contaminated water is leaking from other
places. The new limits on radioactivity in fish were
imposed after TEPCO announced water tested near the
plant Saturday contained levels of radioactive iodine
7.5 million times the legal limit. That level had
dropped to 5 million two days later. Japan said some
fish caught last week about 50 miles (80 kilometres)
from the plant would have exceeded the new safety
limits, which may change as circumstances do. Fears of
radiation contamination prompted India to announce
Tuesday that it was halting food imports from Japan.
Few countries have gone so far, but India's threemonth ban reflected the unease created by the nuclear
crisis among consumers. India said the ban would last
three months or until the risk subsides. It planned to
review the situation weekly.
Source: Canadian Press

MIR A LE

Israel urges UN
to retract
Goldstone Report
Israel has called on the United Nations to retract a report which
said it had committed war crimes during its December 2008January 2009 Gaza offensive, after its author said he may have
been wrong. Richard Goldstone, the South African judge who
led the UN investigation, said in a Washington Post column
published on Friday that "if I had known then what I know
now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document," and likely less critical of Israel. Responding to
Goldstone''s piece on Saturday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel''s
prime minister, urged the
world body to
"nullify" the
report, saying
it "must be
thrown into
the dustbin of
history".
Goldstone
chaired a factfinding mission which, in
a 2009 report
to the UN
Human
Rights Council, said both Israel and Hamas - which controls
Gaza - were guilty of war crimes in the conflict. About 1,400
Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and 13 Israelis
were killed in the devastating war - named Operation Cast Lead
- that was launched with Israel''s declared aim of ending crossborder rocket fire from Palestinian militants. Israel refused to
cooperate with Goldstone''s mission and condemned his report
as distorted and biased. During Operation Cast Lead,
Netanyahu said Israel did not deliberately target civilians, while
Hamas fired at innocent civilians and did not conduct investigations. "Everything we said has been proven true, Israel did
not intentionally harm civilians, its investigating bodies are
worthy and the fact that Goldstone has retracted should bring
the report to be shelved once and for all," Saturday''s statement
by Netanyahu said. Goldstone indicated in his Friday essay that
had Israel cooperated with him at the time, it could have shown
civilians were not deliberately targeted "as a matter of policy".
Israeli military investigations into cases of misconduct later
shed light on civilian killings, Goldstone said. "I regret that our
fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the
circumstances in which we said civilians were targeted, because
it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes," Goldstone said. Sami Abu Zuhri, a
Hamas spokesperson, dismissed Goldstone''s remarks saying
that "his retreat does not change the fact war crimes had been
committed against 1.5 million people in Gaza," and noted that
the group cooperated fully with the fact finding mission. Riyad
al-Malki, Palestinian foreign minister, said Goldstone''s comments did not change a thing. "The report was as clear as the
crimes that Israel committed during the war," he said.
Source: Al-Jazeera

Libya: Continued from pg 1
ters that it had repaired. "NATO is moving very slowly, allowing Gaddafi forces to advance ... NATO has become our problem," he said. Earlier in the day, Brigadier General Mark van
Uhm, NATO's chief of allied operations, said that NATO's new
"number one priority" was the western town of Misurata,
which Younis said was being inadequately protected. "Misurata
is a number one priority because of the situation on the
ground over there. We have confirmation that in Misurata
tanks are being dispersed, being hidden, [and] humans being
used as shields in order to prevent NATO sorties to identify targets," he said. Van Uhm said that Gaddafi's troops have been
adjusting their tactics to deal with the threat from coalition
airstrikes, travelling in trucks and light vehicles to the front line
and hiding their tanks and armoured vehicles from sight. He
said NATO had so far taken out 30 per cent of Gaddafi's military power, and had struck targets near Misurata on Monday.
Source: Al-Jazeera

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

NOT JUST ARMCHAIR ACTIVISM
[Exclusive Editorial for the Miracle]

in their communities and their country.
All year long, my facebook inbox was
flooded with invites for rallies, hearings,
petitions and the like. Even this Saturday,
April 9th, I have been invited, as have
many of my peers, to a rally in downtown
to protest Mayor Rob Ford’s recent decisions. Another invitation, for the same
day, calls for another rally: against the war
and occupation in Afghanistan. It is
scheduled to be held at the US General
Consulate. This event has been endorsed
by Afghans for Peace and the Canadian
Peace Alliance/Toronto Coalition to Stop
the War. Afghans for Peace is a growing
peace movement organized by Afghans
globally, calling for the Afghan peoples
right to self determination and end to the
foreign occupation. The founders and
local organizers of Afghan for Peace are
students, many of them are Canadian.
One of its main strategies for gaining
youth support and encouraging the
spread of knowledge is youtube videos
that give a voice to what youth think
about certain issues.
It’s not any different on other social
media sites such as twitter. I have met
more student activists on twitter than I
have ever met in my entire lifetime of networking. One twitter friend is connected
to friends in Palestine and posts breaking
news, before even reporters are able to
compile stories and post them anywhere.

These days, the first thing I see when I log
onto my facebook account is postings of
election news by friends and classmates.
Tonight, the top of my news feed shows a
link to an article in the Global News in
Montreal about an NDP candidate in a
Quebec riding. “That’s awesome! A
Canadian aboriginal candidate running
for the NDP party in the riding will
ensure a good turnout among Cree and
Inuit voters,” says the facebook user who
posted the article. She lives in the GTA,
yet, like other students, is paying close
attention to election news all over
Canada.
A week ago, a facebook comment by a
friend and fellow leader and activist for
Tamil rights caught my eye. “The
Conservatives are calling the boat load of
Tamil refugees ‘criminals...’ Remember
when they called the Sikhs on the
Kamagata Maru criminals in 1914? Recall
the turning back of the Saint Louis by
Mackenzie King - a boat containing
Jewish refugees in 1939. Enough is
enough: racism, xenophobia and Harper
need to go.” About 30 other mutual
friends “liked” the comment and a few
others responded to the text.
More and more students are looking to
social policy, public affairs, media, government and politics to make a difference

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Let us get together
and vote!

Open Letter to the
Muslim community
in BC!

By: Aftab Alam, Vancouver

By: Mahmood Awan, Richmond
My fellow Brothers and sisters,
The federal election is on May 2, 2011. Our
community should vote for candidates who
are sensitive to our concerns. Some politicians are in the habit of expecting the
Muslims to come out in large numbers to
support them. These same politicians are
very generous with giving us lip service and
only taking notice when the elections are
upon us. Communities where there is a
large Muslim concentration are taken
advantage of by candidates. Please do not
vote for someone just because that person
happens to be someone's friend. We need to
stand for what we believe in and not get
dictated to by others.
In November, the municipal election is
coming up followed by the provincial election. Please do not let candidates give you
false hopes and promises which they cannot
deliver. We live in a very disposable world
where everyone and everything is dispensable and the interests may only exist on the
part of candidates until the voting results
are presented to the viewers.

Stephen Harpers government has fallen and
federal elections are likely to be held in the
month of May. We the Muslims of Canada
have another opportunity here to prove
that we are good citizens and we participate
in the electoral process of the country. Our
goal is to be in the House of Commons and
be part of the decision making process. We
should be at the cabinet table so that we
can voice our concerns at the highest level.
I and many others have been urging the
community to vote in every election. This
time again I say that please let us get
together and vote because even when our
candidate does not win the major parties of
the country can find out which communities are voting and how many. If the numbers are high they take notice of it and they
try to give representation to the community concerned. I can only request that please
come out in great numbers to vote in the
coming elections.

take their families to the polling stations
on voting days.
Some of the issues that students are looking out for in this election are things like
funding for arts and media, lower tuition
fees, racial profiling laws, employment
opportunities. Some are just sitting back
and watching the drama. Michael Sholars,
a student at York University, is looking at
“what Ignatieff is promising, how Harper
is replying, what Layton is doing to distinguish himself this time. The huge scandals coming out of the salaries of Liberals
attached to Hamilton hospitals.” With a
busy student life, he doesn’t have time to
go as in-depth as he would like, but he
wants to be informed so that during election time, he can vote wisely.
Of course, there are always some students
who feel like keeping up with election
coverage is a waste of time for a variety of
reasons, the most popular being that students never see the benefits of any election outcome. To a degree, they are right.
But times are a-changing and I have hope
that youth will take back the vote.

Waan laysa lil insani
illa ma’ sa’aa
That man can have nothing but
what he strives for.
This exclusive Editorial was specially penned for
The Miracle by Ms. Iqra Azhar from Toronto

and other Hydro Power
Pakistan : Continued from pg 3 Valley,
projects in lower Indus valley.
He said that he will have words with the
Law and Water and Power Divisions to
have a considerate view on it. He
briefed the Chinese delegation about
the prevalent rules and laws for bidding
in Pakistan and will ensure that bidding
for the many projects shall be made in a
transparent manner. He also assured
the delegation that he will talk to the
Law Division also to have a final word
on it.
The projects that were discussed in the
meeting were Kohala Hydro Power,
Bhunji, Bhasha, Dashu in Upper Indus

The Minister appraised the delegation
of the Government of Pakistan’s initiatives and resolve to have Chinese cooperation in the development of power
sector and in this regard, he said, that
their offer has been discussed at length
in the Economic Coordination
Committee of the Cabinet meeting in
the recent past.
He hoped that the projects indicated by
the Chinese Corporation would certainly be started with the same Chinese
firm, and added that only after the fulfillment of the procedural headways

Missed you copy of the Miracle's new issue?
No problem! You can now
read the entire issue online at
our website.
You will find the original layout
with all the articles, reports,
pictures and advertisements.
It's just like reading the
hardcopy!
Visit us: www.miraclenews.com/Miracle-Issue.htm

Half the time, that news would never be
posted. Another activist on twitter tweets
links to her blog where she writes about
issues that need an audience, that need
awareness. Having a wide following allows
people connected in all sorts of ways to
read and react to the information.
Regardless of origin, current residence,
faith or any other discriminating factor,
students are passionate about countries
from Pakistan to Palestine and are proud
to say so in their bios. Many of these students are Canadian.
Regardless of career choices, though, students in Canada have noticed that leaving
well enough alone is not always the best
solution. There is a lot that citizens and
residents can do to improve the country
from health care to retirement planning
to foreign aid and the best way to do that
is by getting involved with the political
system or supporting those that already
are. I see students around me getting their
experience by joining volunteer organizations, running for student associations
and boards, and becoming members of
parties whose values they connect with. In
this way, students develop skills and are
given a chance to experience what it is
like to influence change at a grassroots
level. Others, who would like to remain
aware and involved, but to a lesser extent,
pay attention to news articles and spread
the word. They also make sure to vote and

Attention: The opinions expressed herein contain positions and viewpoints that are not
necessarily those of ‘The Miracle’. These are offered as a means for ‘The Miracle’ to stimulate dialogue and
discussion in our continuing mission of ‘Bringing Harmony To All The Communities.’
Email:

By: Suhaib Webb
How can we benefit from the Qur'an? Ibn
Qayim al-Jawziya mentioned a verse in
Surat Qaf:
"Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has
a heart or who listens while he is present [in
mind]" (Qur'an, 50:37).
One of the names of the Qur'an is
"reminder." Why? Because human beings
always forget, and the main thing that we
forget is that our purpose is to worship
Allah (subhanahu wa ta`ala - exalted is He).
Allah says that this Qur'an is a reminder for
the one who has a heart, and the one who
alqa-ssam'a. Alqa means to throw, thus
"throws his ears," meaning they're listening
really intently. Wa huwa shaheed can be
translated to "and he is a witness." These are
the three requirements Ibn Qayyim alJawziya mentioned in a book called
Fawaa'id. He says that in this verse we find
three requirements to benefit from the
Quran, lectures, and from our learning
experience in general.
The First Requirement: The Heart
The first one, as Allah says, is the one who
has a heart. What does this mean, the heart?
We know the heart is the essence to everything. That's why we have a science in Islam
called at-tasawwuf, to purify our hearts,
which is related to tazkiyat al-nafs (purification of the soul) or ihsan (excellence in
faith). And we find here that Allah said, "for
whoever has a heart."
To really understand how your heart is the
main variable conditioning your relationship with the Quran, listen to the following
story:
In the sixth year after the Prophethood of
Muhammad started, `Umar ibn al-Khattab
(may Allah be pleased with him) was not a
Muslim. He became angry and decided, "I'm
going to kill Muhammad."
So he left his home with this big sword. His
sword is huge, if you've been to Turkey
maybe you've seen the sword of al-Farouk
(i.e. `Umar). And so he went to kill the
Prophet . This is deep, what Sheikh
Sha`rawy said about this.
`Umar went and he ran into Na`eem ibn
`Abdullah, and Na`eem said to `Umar,
"Where are you going?" `Umar said, "I'm
going to kill Muhammad."
And he, Na`eem ibn `Abdullah, was Muslim.
He said, "Why are you going to kill him ?
You need to go and kill your own family
[first], they're Muslim too. Your sister
Fatima ibn al-Khattab is Muslim, and Zaid
ibn al-Khattab, your cousin, who's the husband of your sister, is Muslim."
`Umar became incensed, and he went to the
home of his sister Fatima where he heard
the Qur'an being recited. And subhan'Allah
(glory be to Allah), the 'ulema (scholars)
said that when `Umar heard the Quran he
kicked down the door and [the people
inside] heard `Umar coming. They used to
say about him, "Umar was a door." He was a
big person. When he used to ride an animal
his feet would hit the ground, he was that
big. So they heard him coming. There were
three people in the home including one of
the sahabi (companions) who was teaching
Fatima and Zaid the Qur'an. He hid himself.
`Umar kicked down the door and he said to
them, "What is this speech that you're reading that makes no sense?"
They said, "What are you talking about?"
He said, "I heard you in here doing something." They said, "No." Then he said, "Are
you all Muslim?"
When they said yes, `Umar grabbed Zaid,
his cousin, and started to beat him down.
Then he slapped his sister so hard that
blood was drawn from her face. Fa qad
raqqa qalbahu (then his heart softened).
`Umar , when he saw the blood coming
from her face, said to her, "Show me what

you've been reading."
When he saw what they were reading, and
he read Surat Taha. As he reached the fourteenth verse, where Allah says,
"Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except
Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for
My remembrance" (Qur'an, 20:14). He
became a Muslim.
Why did the Qur'an affect `Umar the second
time, but not the first time? What changed?
It was his heart. The 'ulema said that
subhan'Allah when `Umar saw the blood
coming from his sister's lips he felt softness
in his heart. So then he was ready for the
Qur'an. That's why when he heard the
Qur'an the first time there was very little
impact, but when he heard the Qur'an the
second time he was impacted, as Imam al
Sha`rawy, may Allah have mercy on him,
said.
So the heart is the main factor towards
understanding the Qur'an. That's why the
Prophet said, "Indeed in the body there is a
piece of flesh, if it's good the whole body is
good, and if it is corrupted the whole body
is corrupted. Verily, it is the heart."
(Muslim)
So when we come to the Qur'an, we should
make sure our hearts are in check. I should
check myself. This is a long series of discussions but, in general, internally we should
feel, "I'm reading the speech of Allah.
Between my hands is the miracle of the
Prophethood of Rasulullah ." When you
hold the Quran, it's as if you're holding the
same staff that Musa (peace be upon him)
threw down that became a snake. When
you're holding the Quran, it's as if you're
holding in your hands the dead person that
Isa brought back to life, by the will of Allah.
You are holding the miracle of the
Prophethood of Rasul Allah in your hands.
So the first important factor is our hearts.
The Second Requirement: Listening
The second important thing is listening.
Maybe some people say, "Listening?
Subhan'Allah why do we have to talk about
listening?"
Go to any Friday khutbah (sermon) and see
how many people don't listen. If you go to
many Friday khutbahs you find,
astaghfir'Allah (I seek refuge from Allah),
some people doing their 401k on their cell
phone in the back of the masjid, exclaiming,
"Sell! Sell! Sell now!" Selling stocks in the
back of the masjid. Look at the announcements in our masjids. Have they changed
over twenty years? "Please
park in the yellow lines that
go to the curb. You put
your car between there, not
on it, not sideways. Please
wipe up the water from the
wudhu (ablution) area.
Please don't, please this,
J.ul Awaal
please that." Subhan'Allah,
04
nobody listens.
And Allah made listening a 29292205
condition for obedience
06
when He said,
07
"We hear and we obey."
08
(Qur'an, 2:285)
09
Before I can obey I have to
hear. In another verse Allah
10
says,
11
"Who listen to speech and
12
follow the best of it."
13
(Quran 39:18)
Those who listen and fol14
low. So listening is very
15
important.
16
And, subhan'Allah, Ibn Al
17
Munaya said that there are
18
four things you should do
if you want to listen in the
way that Allah mentioned
in that verse of Surat Qaf.
First, you should be tran-

quil, physically as well as spiritually. You
should be tranquil with your body, spirit,
limbs, and you should lower your gaze.
Subhan'Allah he said to lower your gaze. AlAdab (manners and etiquette) always precede knowledge. Look at Musa in Surat Taha
again, when Allah called Musa from the valley Tuwa. Musa saw a fire and he went to it.
What's the first thing Allah said to him?
"Indeed, I am your Lord, so remove your
sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley
of Tuwa," (Quran 20:12).
Take off your shoes. Why? Al-Adab (etiquette). So we must have etiquette with
Allah.
As Ibn Al Qurtubi mentioned, in Surah Al
Muddathir when Allah was talking to the
Prophet , He told him qum-stand up
(Quran 74:2). "Stand up" has a few meanings. One of them means to be active in
da'wah (calling to Islam), or to be active as a
Muslim. But also stand up out of Al-Adab.
That's why the mother of Imam Maalik,
`Aaliya , when she sent Maalik to Rabi al
Raee, his first shaykh (scholar), she told
him, "Learn from him his adab before you
learn from him his knowledge."
`Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, "We are in
more need of a little adab than we are in
need of a lot of knowledge."
So the first criterion (of listening) is to be
tranquil, and have tranquility all throughout
the self.
The second one is to pay attention, to force
the self to focus. You know some people
when it comes to listening they are like the
limb on a tree: whenever the breeze blows
they will move. Their thoughts control them
like that. But Allah said about the believer,
asluha thabit (they are firm) (Qur'an,
14:24). Focus and listen.
The third one he mentioned is to gather the
mind on what's being said-to focus internally through hearing and cognition.
The fourth one is to be excited and determined to act upon what you hear. How
many of us, after this lecture, for the next
two weeks we'll touch the Qur'an? Now we
should feel that, "Oh subhan'Allah, I should
read the Quran." This is a sign that I
focused and took some benefit, and I listened.
And he (Ibn Al Munaya) said, "And this is
the listening that is loved by Allah ." To
repeat them: the first one is to be tranquil
within the self; the second is to pay attention through hearing; the third one is to pay

Volume 6, Book 61,
Number 538:
Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari:
The Prophet said, "The example of
him (a believer) who recites the
Qur'an is like that of a citron which
tastes good and smells good. And he
(a believer) who does not recite the
Qur'an is like a date which is good in
taste but has no smell. And the example of a dissolute wicked person who
recites the Qur'an is like the Raihana
(sweet basil) which smells good but
tastes bitter. And the example of a
dissolute wicked person who does not
recite the Qur'an is like the colocynth
which tastes bitter and has no smell.
attention and gather the mind on what's
being said; and the fourth is to be excited to
act upon what is heard.
The Third Requirement: Witness
The last thing Allah said (in the verse) is
"and he is a witness." Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziya
and others of the 'ulema commented that
this means a witness in the heart. The heart
is alive, focusing. Let me give you an example of being a witness with the heart. When
you pray, why do you pray `Asr and Dhuhr
(the afternoon prayers) without any voice?
This is the time to train your heart to be
awake. Why do you pray the sunnah (the
optional prayers) quietly? This is the time to
listen with your heart. How many of us,
subhan'Allah, when we pray our hearts are
all over the field? All of us. Everyone of us
struggles with it. This is the listening in the
heart, internally. When the Imam is reciting,
try to focus on what he's saying. Someone
might say, "I don't understand Arabic."
Learn Arabic. Try to understand what's
being said.
So, he is a witness in his heart. That's why
Allah said in Surat Yasin that this Qur'an
has been sent to warn the one who is alive:
"That it may give admonition to any (who
are) alive, and that the charge may be proved
against those who reject (Truth)." (Quran
36:70). The `ulema said that this means alive
in their hearts. The heart is alive.
Source: SuhaibWebb - Suhaib Webb,
transcribed by Fuseina Mohamad

Pak.Can.Association celebrates 71st Pakistan Day
By: Raza Mirani
Pakistan-Canada Association once again held a celebration
event for the Republic Day of Pakistan. For the past 48
years Pakistan-Canada Association has been holding events
marking this important day in our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. Over
400 people attended what was from all accounts a highly
entertaining event. The event began with a growing tradition for PCA events, the raising of the flag of both Pakistan
and Canada. The Consul General, Mr. Shuja Alam, along
with members of the community stood and raised the flags
as the anthems of both nations played. The event moved
indoors with Master of Ceremonies Mr. Raza Mirani conducting
the event. A highlight and pleasant surprise was the playing of an
8-minute clip of a speech from Quaid-e-Azam speaking about the
importance of Pakistan and the sacrifice of countless thousands to
make Pakistan a reality. Performances from the Miracle's own
Naseer Pirzada, speeches from Islamic Trust Chairman Mr. Sabir

Ali Pannun, Consual General Shuja Alam and President Farrukh
Alam capped the event. A surprise performance from singing sensation Kamal Khan kept the crowd charged and a pep rally style
cry of support led by Khurram Rai for our Pakistani Cricket Team
galvanized the audience in national pride. Overall an enjoyable
family event and one that the board and trust of Pakistan-Canada
Association.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un
Mohammed Mujeeb Naumani, son of Maulana Naumani Sahib has passed away on
April 2 in Surrey. He was 24 years old and died due to a brain hemorrhage. We pray
to Almighty Allah (SWT) for His mercy, to forgive all his sins and reward him with
the best place in the paradise and to give patience to the family (Ameen).
The Miracle Media Group, Pakistan Canada Association, Pakistani Canadian Cultural
Association, British Columbia Muslim Association and many other Masajids, Islamic
Centers, organizations and individuals convey their deeply condolence to Maulana
Abdual Lateef Naumani on the sudden and tragic death of his son.
The Namaaz Janazah of Mujeeb Naumani was led by his father Maulana Naumani
who made Duaa for his Maghfrat in Surrey Masjid on April 5, and buried in Victoria
Memorial Cemetery ,White Rock.

Thank You Note!
By: Maulan Abdul Lateef Naumani
I would like to thank all those who conveyed
their condolence to me on tragic death of my son
Mujeeb Naumani. A number of people came at
Namaaz Janazah in Surrey Masjid and many of
them joined in Funeral at White Rock.
Allah (SWT) bless you all. Ameen

BULLAY SHAH ACADEMY OF CANADA

Earthquake 2005 Fundraising
Pledges Declaration
I, Sabir Ali Pannun, being a Pakistan Canada Association
(PCA) Islamic Trust chairman, have announced these figures
many times for Earthquake Fund raising (through Radio
India –Radio Thon 2005) in public meetings. Last time I
handed over the bank statements to the print media before I
left for Pakistan few months ago.
Now local media and print media has the right to announce / publish all these figures:
Description
Amount
President Relief Fund
$200,000.00
Human Concern International
$100,000.00
Appna Sehat
$100,000.00
President Relief Fund
$250,436.89
Hope International
$23,050.00
Operation Heartbeat
$20,000.00
Edhi Foundation
$100,000.00
Global Council of Pakistan
$1,300.00
Ashshura Financial
$2,800.00
Khan properties Inc.
$2,968.00
Cost of Credit Cards Commission
$2,697.20
----------------------------------------------------------

We invite brothers & sisters every last Saturday
of the month for the Holy Darse Quran @ 5:00pm
Visit Us at:- Club House of Mandley Village
Unit 33, 12110 75A Ave. Surrey.
Tel/Fax: 604-592-9416 , Cell: 604-760-0096

$ 803, 252.09

Note: IN 2005, on Radiothons at Radio India, around a Million dollars were announced
in cash, cheques and pledges but some of credit card payments were declined and many
people did not fulfill their commitment. Whatever we collected from that fundraising,
we had sent at above places. If anybody has any further questions regarding this earthquake and Flood relief funds, he/she can approach me or Pakistan Canada Association.
Sabir Ali Pannun: 604-309-6036
-----------------------------------------------------------

Additional public information of Flood Relief Fund of 2010
$ 160,000 was raised in Pledges, Cash and Cheques and this amount was handed over
to
Human Concern International
The Citizens Foundation

$25,000.00
$135,000.00

Press/Media Release

FSAP President and National Expert/Author of National Fire & Safety
Policy of Pakistan Capt. Suleman Mahtab honored by the Government
of Pakistan as he leaves for Canada

We, the Board of Directors and Members of Fire & Safety Association of Pakistan (FSAP),
are thankful to the Minster of State for Local Government Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Naz
for honoring our president Capt. Suleman Shah Mahtab with Ministerial Shield to recognize his tireless and relentless services for Pakistan and the citizens of Pakistan.
We greatly feel proud and honored to be associated with Mr. Mahtab to develop the firstever National Fire &
Safety Policy of Pakistan
2010. It would have not
been possible to achieve
this milestone in our
History without his
vision and selfless
efforts for over 18
months. We salute Mr.
Mahtab for his love for
Pakistan and unmatchable service for Pakistan
and its people to
enhance the safety of
life and property.
We urge upon the federal Government of
Pakistan to immediately
take steps to approve the draft policy. We urge upon the Prime Minister of Pakistan to
obtain ratification of this unanimous draft of the policy from the Parliament and make it
the “National Fire, Safety and Emergency Management Act of Pakistan”. The Act would
ensure minimize loss of lives, properties and resources; improves safety and wellbeing of
emergency responders and secure employment for thousands of people of Pakistan.
We wish our hero Mr. Mahtab the best of luck as he leaves to join his family in Canada. We
would always miss you Sir but we would continue working under your guidance and leadership as the honorable President of this worthy organization (FSAP).
Sincerely,
Anwaar Ahmad Ghouri
General Secretary,
Fire & Safety Association of Pakistan (FSAP)
Chief, Fire & Rescue

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Are hateful provocateurs any better than terrorists?
By: Dr. Habib Siddiqui
Remember Christian pastor Terry Jones
of Dove World Outreach Center in
Gainesville, Florida? He caused an international uproar last year by threatening to burn
200 copies of the Qur'an, the Muslim Holy
Scripture, on the anniversary of the
September 11 attacks. Among others, the
overall commander of forces in Afghanistan,
Gen. David H. Petraeus, had warned at that
time that such an action could provoke violence in Afghanistan and
could endanger American troops. Jones subsequently promised not to burn the
Qur'an.
Last month, on March 20, however, with
only 30 worshipers attending, Terry Jones
held a self-styled mock trial of the Qur'an in
which he presided from the pulpit as a judge.
Sitting in judgment was a jury of 12 members of his church. Punishment was determined by the results of an online poll.
Besides burning, the options included shredding, drowning and facing a firing squad.
Jones said voters had chosen to set fire to the
book, according to a video of the proceedings. So the Qur'an was burned.
The hateful act drew little publicity inside
the USA, but provoked angry condemnation
in the Af-Pak region, where it was reported
in the local media and where anti-American
sentiment already runs high. Last week,
President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan condemned the burning in an address before the
Parliament, and President Hamid Karzai of
Afghanistan on Thursday called on the
United States to bring those responsible for
the Qur'an burning to
justice. A prominent Afghan cleric, Mullah
Qyamudin Kashaf, the acting head of the
influential Ulema Council of Afghanistan
and a Karzai appointee, also called for
American authorities to arrest and try Terry

Jones in the Qur'an burning.
Obviously, the U.S. government will not take
any action against the Christian pastor.
There is absolute freedom in this country to
trash a religion, its founder and its holy
book, although Tomahawks may be fired and
bombs dropped to kill anyone considered
hostile to the USA. The U.S.
government doesn't have to put the suspect
into a lengthy trial process; it is easier this
way to simply vaporize him, his family and
tribe, and the neighborhood he lived!
I am sure many westerners would see no
problem with such a politically secular and
chauvinistic attitude, considered so outlandish, one-sided or hypocritical by so
many in the East. They forget that every freedom that we enjoy has its limitations. When
the rights of others are violated, it is no
longer deemed freedom but can be an abuse
or a crime. Many of these bigots
and self-righteous nuts like Jones forget that
we live in a highly connected world in which
information flies instantly. So the provocation here can trigger a political-diplomatic
tsunami elsewhere. And we have witnessed
plenty of such occurrences in recent years.
Consider for instance, the reaction to the
demolition of the Buddha statues in
Afghanistan. In the days following the
Taliban insanity, scores of Muslim houses of
worship were burned down in many
Buddhist majority countries in south and
south-east Asia. The same was the consequence in Nepal during the height of Iraqi
occupation when thousands of Nepalese
Hindus burned at least two mosques including the "Jamaa" mosque, the largest mosque
in the capital Katmandu, in protest against
the killing of 12 Nepalese who had been
working as cooks and cleaners for the occupation forces by an Iraqi insurgent group in
August 31, 2004. In Nepalgunj, Nepal's west-

Congratulations!

ern capital, nine houses inhabited by
Muslims were burnt down. At least three
Muslims were killed; several Muslim shops
and businesses were also destroyed by the
angry mob.
And who can forget the post-9/11 backlash
in the USA - the steady stream of more than
800 cases of violence and discrimination suffered by American Muslims at the hands of
know-nothing abusers? (It is worth nothing
that while Muslims make up about 1 percent
of the U.S. population, they are victims in 14
percent of religious discrimination cases.
These range from
homicides and mosque burnings to job,
school and zoning law abuses, according to
the Justice Department.)
Afghanistan is not impervious to information either. Its people had more than its
share of troubles since the 1970s with foreign
occupation forces and their stooges. Deeply
religious and reflexively volatile, it has long
been highly reactive to perceived insults
against Islam. Thus the provocative desecration of the Qur'an in Gainesville was not lost
in its information radar screen. Last Friday
some 20,000 protesters overran the compound of the United Nations in Mazar-iSharif, the northern Afghan city, during
which 12 people died. The dead included at
least seven United Nations
workers, and five Afghans. The top U.N. official in Afghanistan blamed Taliban infiltrators for the killings. Violent protests against
the burning continued on Saturday in
Kandahar where 9 people got killed and 81
injured.
The attack once again underscored the latent
hostility toward the nine-year foreign presence here, even in a city long considered to
be among the safest in Afghanistan. The
indiscriminate NATO bombing campaigns
and drone attacks

that have killed thousands of civilians have
only reinforced the perception amongst most
Afghans, including the western-back government of Karzai, that these western forces and
their mercenaries have no respect for Afghan
lives. They want them out. Terry Jones, the
provocateur responsible for triggering this
latest episode, was well aware of the consequences of his sacrilegious action. He
remains unrepentant and says that given the
chance he would do it all over again. He
audaciously demanded that the United States
and United Nations take "immediate action"
against Muslim nations in retaliation for the
deaths.
"The time has come to hold Islam accountable," he said. Such deranged talks from a
bigoted Christian pastor should not surprise
us. In the post-9/11 era these Christian
zealots have been trying everything possible
to expand the West's war against the Muslim
world. Knowing very
well that they are protected by laws, these
provocateurs have abused the notion of freedom of speech to incite violence, thereby
endangering the lives of too many innocent
people. And one death is too many!
It is high time for the U.S. government to
understand that their nonchalant attitude
against these 'terrorists' sends out a very
incoherent message to the rest of the world
when they see the same government justifying their bombing campaigns against hideouts of a radical Muslim cleric for inciting
violence against occupation forces in a
Muslim land. They call it the
pinnacle of hypocrisy! It is simply inexcusable.
Dr Habib Siddiqui has authored nine books. His book:
"Democracy, Politics and Terrorism - America's Quest
for Security in the Age of of Insecurity" is available at
Amazon.com.

The practice of Circumcision is a characteristic of the Fitra.

Mr. and Mrs. Nadeem Malik celebrated the first birthday of their son,
Aariz Afzal Malik on April 2nd at Bollywood Banquet Hall. The happy
family is seen here with the proud Grandmother, Mrs. Afzal Malik.

Abu Huraira – Sahih Bukhari 7.72.779

Infant
Circumcision
Khitan/Khatna
Last year alone, hundreds of BC
doctors referred more than 2000
infants for circumcision to
Dr. Neil Pollock.
Here is why:

For more information on our
technique, including a video of the
surgery, visit our website
www.circumcisionvancouver.com
OR CALL US AT

604-717-6200

Offices in Vancouver
and New Westminster

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MIR A LE

ICNA Sisters hold Seerah Program to express love for Prophet (SAW)
“Say (O beloved Prophet, to the people): If you love Allah, then follow
me; Allah will love you and forgive
you your sins, and Allah is Forgiving,
Merciful. (3:31)
ICNA sisters Canada held a Seerah program on March 27th at Pakistan house,
under the title of “WE LOVE OUR
PROPHET (S.A.W)”. This collaborative
effort of ICNA’s department MCNA
(Muslim children of North America) was a
great success. About 150 kids and sisters
attended the program.
Opening welcoming speech was delivered
by sister Tahira. Then sister Yagana served
as Master of ceremonies and requested sister Perveen for the Tilawat-e-Quran.
Students of MCNA have played a very vital

role in participating and presenting variety
of items.
Hamd-e-Bari Taala “Hasbi Rabbi” was presented by Iqra Samad and Hiba Samad.
Followed by the speech on the topic of “An
Excellent Role Model (S.A.W)” By Shaheer
Hashmi. Young Muslim minds of level 3
were tested by the session of questions and
answers in a quiz format. Besides kids, all
the guests also participated in the quiz and
won prizes through out the program.
Sister Nusrat’s beautiful Naat was followed
by Ammar Ahmed’s speech on the “SUNNAH OF MOHAMMAD(S.A.W)”.
Level 1 little kids participated in a Nasheed
“ALLAH MADE EVERYTHING”, they
themselve looked like flowers of Jannah.
Level 1 advance group kids acted out in a

drama about “Back Biting”. Followed by
the level 2 students beautiful Nasheed
“Ammantu billahi” .
AS we headed towards the end of the program sister Farooqa enlighten us with here
“Dars-e-Quran” based on Surah Al-eImran(Ayah:164)
“Indeed Allâh conferred a great favor on
the believers when He sent among them a
Messenger (Muhammad SAW) from
among themselves, reciting unto them His
Verses (the Qur’an), and purifying them
(from sins by their following him), and
instructing them (in) the Book (the
Qur’an) and Al-Hikmah [the wisdom and
the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW (i.e. his
legal ways, statements, acts of worship)],
while before that they had been in manifest

error.”
After Dua, refreshment was distributed.
In this Program, Everyone got more
knowledge about Our beloved Prophet
Muhammad (S.A.W). Alhumdulillah!
ICNA Sisters having more programs
throughout the year, ICNA sisters invite to
create a healthy bond between our children
and the Quran, and make it a part of their
daily lives, by teaching it in a friendly environment.
Classes for sisters “Tajweed and Tafseer of
the Quran” held on every Thursday at near
Surrey Masjid. MCNA Classes held on
Sunday in the Surrey Masjid basement.
Online Classes held for Teen agers girls and
Sisters too.
For more info visit www.icnasisterscanada.com
or contact mcnasurrey@yahoo.ca

Support and Solidarity Shown with the people of Bahrain
By Danish Zaidi
On March 26th, the Muslim Youths for
Justice organized a protest at the Vancouver
Art Gallery to show support and solidarity
with the people of Bahrain. They also
denounced the brutal repression of
Bahraini citizens at the hands of the ruling
regime of Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and the
foreign troops from the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC), in particular Saudi Arabia
and the UAE.
The protest commenced with a recitation
from the Qur’an by Br. Muhammad alSammak followed by an informative speech
by Sr. Laya Behbahani about the history of
oppression perpetuated against the people
of Bahrain. Her speech was followed by a
passionate address by Br. Jamshed Abbas
who rallied the crowd with an insightful
presentation interspersed with some powerful chants and messages. The speakers
detailed some of the atrocities committed

in Bahrain, including the torture and
killing of Bahraini protestors, their illegal
imprisonment in Bahraini jails and the closure of hospitals and medical centers which
were instrumental in providing medical
care to the wounded protestors. They also
called on the government of Canada to
take action and to “acknowledge that the
life of a Bahraini citizen is just as valuable
as their
Canadian counterparts”.
The subsequent
speaker, Sr.
Fatema Zehra
Naqvi, read an
emotionally
charged letter to
the ruler of
Bahrain, questioning his lack
of mercy and

justice in the face of the crisis that has
gripped the country. She lauded the
courage of Bahraini protestors who stood
in the face of bullets, with “feet firmly in
cement”, determined to acquire their rights.
The program culminated with a small talk
and prayer by Br. Murtaza Bachoo. Prior to
praying for the people of Bahrain, the
speaker pointed out that the conflict in

Bahrain was not a sectarian conflict, but a
conflict over human rights. In light of this,
He bemoaned the silence and inaction of
the Canadian government and demanded
that the government initiate some real
steps to pressure the Al-Khalifa regime to
end the violence and bloodshed in Bahrain
and grant equal rights to all the people of
Bahrain.

CWCN organizes Health workshop on Holistic health
Report by: Shabnam Khan
Canadian Women Community Network
Society exists to support diverse women,
especially immigrant & refugee women
and their families in the City of Surrey and
surrounding areas to achieve their fullpotential to become productive members
of Canadian society and participate in the
socio-economic life of Canada.
The CWCN has a group of dedicated professional women, building a network of
multicultural communities to help establish a pool of resources for diverse women
population. The CWCN group has been
having weekly Community Networking
workshops every Sunday and we are proud
to say that so far we have had a phenomenal response from the women community!
Some of the services provided by CWCN
are: Health tips by Medical Doctors, Career

were
well addressed by the presenters. Women
freely discussed their personal life experiences and shared them with the group. The
workshop started at noon and finished at 2

p.m. All participants had a chance to interact with each other and the day ended with
hot lunch and snacks for everyone!
CWCN - We Connect, We Care, We Make
A Difference!

Newborn and Children
Circumcision (Khatna)
Dr. Kim-Sing is a practicing Pediatrician in Burnaby
with over 20 years of experience.
The Circumcision is performed under local
anesthetic and virtually complication free.
For appointment and inquiry Contact
Dr. Malcolm Kim-Sing, MB, FRCP

604-433-5750
108-3825 Sunset Street, Burnaby, B.C V5G 1T4

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Harper continues push for majority
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is making his case for a stable, majority government
at campaign stops across the country, a tactical switch from recent elections. After two
consecutive minority Conservative governments, the party is gambling that Canadians
are now more comfortable with giving
Harper a majority mandate. And the
Conservative strategy for winning one
depends on a carefully-crafted campaign
that's designed to pick off very specific riding
targets. Harper was visiting one of those
potential swing ridings on Monday in
Welland, Ont., where he reannounced his
party's long-held commitment to scrap the
long-gun registry. Harper's time in the
southern Ontario riding, which was narrowly
won by the NDP's Malcolm Allen in 2008, is
a pinpoint strategy designed to nudge just a
few more voters over to his side. He is using

these narrow ridings to show why his party
needs a majority government. "[Tory MP]
Candace Hoeppner's bill [to scrap the gun
registry] failed by two votes. Why? It failed by
two votes because enough Liberal NDP and
BQ MPs — the coalition MPs — switched
their votes to defeat it," Harper told the rally.
The NDP's Allen is one of the MPs who
switched his vote to keep the registry alive.
While Harper toured a local peanut store,
Allen showed up to talk to reporters and to
pivot the discussion in the riding from the
gun registry to the economy. "His corporate
tax cuts have taken 9,200 jobs at GM in 1993
to 1,750 today, 800 good paying jobs at John
Deere where they bargained a collective
agreement that talked about how the increasing dollar would affect them, heading out of
this country," Allen said. "So his corporate
tax policy has absolutely failed." Allen's very

appearance at a Conservative event
is a sign of how fierce the battle has
become in Conservative's target
ridings. And how closely Harper is
involving himself in the ground
war. Harper began talking about
the need for a majority government
when the election campaign kicked
off two weeks ago. The strategy was
verboten in previous campaigns as
there were fears that voters may shy away
from trusting the Harper Conservatives with
a majority. When the election was called, the
Conservatives held 143 seats, a dozen seats
shy of the 155 needed for a majority in the
308-seat House of Commons. "Of course I
would like to have a majority," Harper said
on the day the election was called. "Every
party would prefer a majority than a minority. But if Canadians elect a Conservative gov-

ernment, whether it's a Conservative minority or a Conservative majority, I will accept
their mandate." Harper has used other campaign appearances to rally troops in close ridings. The Conservative leader used his first
stop in New Brunswick to campaign in
Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, a riding the
Liberals held onto in 2008 but with a tighter
margin.
Source: CBC News

Tories kept ‘scandalous’ G8 and G20 spending a secret: Ignatieff

Stephen Harper is keeping secret a government report into the “scandalous” waste of
money at last summer’s G8 and G20 summits, Michael Ignatieff says. The Liberal
Leader said Tuesday was the day Auditor
General Sheila Fraser was due to release her
probe of the expenses for the back-to-back
world summits, which cost more than $1 billion. “We think that is one of the worst

examples of fiscal mismanagement
in the history of the country and
we think the public report on this
by the Auditor General ought to
be out there,” Ignatieff said during
a campaign stop here Tuesday
morning. “The key issue for
Canadian citizens and taxpayers is
the scandalous waste of public
money and the scandalous chain
of bad decisions that led to the
waste,” he said. The auditor general is normally required to first
table her reports in the House of Commons.
And because the Commons is no longer in
session – due to an election forced by the
opposition parties – her report could be
delayed until Parliament returns.
But Ignatieff claimed that the
Conservatives have already
received advance copies of
Fraser’s probe and he called on

Politics trumped policy as
NDP lashes out at Harper
government scandals
Jack Layton kicked at Stephen
Harper's closed-door campaign
strategy and railed against alleged
Conservative misdeeds Tuesday in a
performance that overshadowed the

NDP's latest policy pronouncement. The New Democrat leader
pre-empted a policy announcement
on families to go over laundry list
of scandals, including the latest revelation that the prime minister
hired a senior adviser who had five
fraud convictions. His comments
were among his strongest criticisms
of government ethics since the
beginning of the NDP campaign,
which has focused heavily on issues
and solutions. Layton denied he
was forsaking policy for politics in
order to steer the national
spotlight toward his party,

which is locked in a pitched battle
with Liberals for left-leaning voters.
"I think with these new revelations
regarding Mr. (Bruce) Carson, with
the fact the government went to
court to block
access to the
Afghan detainee
documents, with
the fact we have
the auditor general's report on the
G-8 available but
not being released,
it's time to speak
out about the fact
this government is
not being truthful
and open with Canadians," he said.
The latest revelations that Carson, a
former PMO staffer who is now
under investigation by the RCMP
for alleged influence-peddling,
rated only passing mention by
Layton on Monday as his campaign
shored up shaky votes in southwestern Ontario. The sense that
there might be Conservative blood
in the water over accountability and
ethics, issues that brought the government down in a contempt-ofParliament motion, seemed to take

Continued on pg 27

Harper to make those findings public. “We
think that report is on the Prime Minister’s
desk and we think he ought to get it ought.
We think Canadians ought to know what’s in
that report because in many ways it’s the
most amazing example of waste in this
Conservative government’s record,” Ignatieff
said. In a statement, Conservatives accused
Ignatieff of seeking to meddle in Fraser’s
independence, noting that the auditor general is “fully independent.” “We will not interfere with the auditor general’s reporting to
Parliament. In fact, we are a little surprised
that Michael Ignatieff would suggest such a
course of action,” Conservative spokesperson
Mike White said in an email. The two summits last June played host to world leaders –

and stirred controversy for its sky-high security costs and the infrastructure cash that was
funneled into Tony Clement’s Muskoka riding. “You have a perfectly good summit site
at Huntsville. You could have put them all
behind a screened porch looking at a real
lake. Instead, you move it down to Toronto,
you put up a fake lake and you blow a $1.2
billion in 72 hours,” Ignatieff said. Ignatieff
sidestepped a question whether there should
be a public inquiry into summit – which
attracted wide criticism for its cost and the
actions of police – saying he didn’t want to
“short circuit” ongoing probes into police
conduct.
Source: The Star

Canadian federal election, 2011
May 2, 2011 (2011-05-02)
308 seats in the House of Commons of Canada
155 seats are needed for a majority
Opinion polls

Official Notification of
Mr. Bhutto's Execution
According to the orders of the SMLA, the following officials were to inform Mr. Bhutto of
his execution on the night of3-4 April 1979:
1) - Jail Superintendent, Mr. Yar Mohammad
2) - Security Battalion Commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Rafi-ud-Din
3)- Magistrate First Class, Mr. Bashir Ahmad
Khan
4) - Jail Doctor, Mr. Sagheer Hussain Shah
This party entered the jail cell at 6:05 p.m. in
the evening on April 3rd and found Mr.
Bhutto lying on the mattress on the floor.
Jail Superintendent, Yar Mohammad, read the
execution order to Mr. Bhutto, „According to
the 18th March 1978 order of the Lahore
High Court, You, Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto are
to be hanged for the murder of Nawab
Mohammad Ahmad Khan. Your appeal in the
Supreme Court was rejected on 6th February
1979 and the review petition was turned
down on 24th March 1979. The president of
Pakistan has decided not to interfere in this
matter. So it has been decided to hang
you.‰I did not see any signs of panic on Mr.
Bhutto‚s face while the Jail Superintendent
was reading out the orders. Instead, I could
see that he was quite calm & relaxed and had
a smile on his face. I was really surprised at
the way Mr. Bhutto had handled the news. I
was thinking that we were about to hang a
leader who had listened to the orders of his
execution with such calm and serenity. I
could hear a voice inside me that the death of
this person would be disastrous for our
nation & our country. Probably for the first
time in my life I felt that I was losing control
over myself.
Bhutto Sahib looked the Jail Superintendent
in his eyes and said to him (these words are
Mr. Bhutto‚s own)
“I should have been informed by the competent authority 24 hours prior to the execution, but it has not been done. On the contrary when my daughter and wife met me
today at 11:30 hours, they were not sure
about it. I called Jail Superintendent and
asked him for necessary clarification. He told
me vaguely that the required order for the
execution has been passed and it was with
him. He also told me that my relations: my
sister Monawar ul Islam and my cousin, Mr.
Mumtaz Ali Bhutto would be seeing me after
my daughter and wife left me. He also told
me that after the visitors, he would come
himself to get my Œwill‚ etc. at 13:50 hours.
No written order of my execution has been
shown to me so far. I want to see my counsels
as soon as possible. My other relatives should
have been allowed to see me. My teeth are
very bad and I would like to see my dentist,
Mr. Zafar Niazi, immediately”.After these
words from Mr. Bhutto, Magistrate First
Class, Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan introduced
himself and told Mr. Bhutto that he could
write his will if he wanted to. He would be
provided with paper etc. for this. After this,
the official message read by the government
party was over and the officials started to
leave. I was still in a state of confusion at that
time. I felt as if I was petrified. Bhutto Sahib
tried to get up but stumbled. I helped him by
supporting him with my arm. He said that he
was feeling sick in his stomach.
Bhutto Sahib called out for his helper, Abdur
Rehman, and asked him to bring some warm
water for his shave. He then turned to me
and asked me, “Rafi! What is this drama that
is being staged?”
I remained silent for a while so he repeated
his question. I answered, “Sir, have I ever
tried to joke with you?” He said at once,
“What do you mean?‚ and then repeated the

question again.I answered, „Sir, the order has
been given. You will be executed today.”
For the first saw I saw a bewildered look on
Mr. Bhutto‚s face. He waved his hand and
said in a loud voice “OK... It‚s finished...
OK... It‚s finished.” I said, „Yes Sir.
“ It seemed like Bhutto Sahib‚s eyes had
exploded because of fear. His face turned yellow and dry. I cannot accurately describe the
condition he was in at that time.
Then he said, ”At what time? Today?
I showed him 7 fingers of my hand just like a
jump master tells the time before the jump.
He said, “After 7 days?” I went near him and
told him, “Sir, hours.” He said, “Tonight, after
7 hours?” I answered by nodding my head in
affirmation. When Bhutto Sahib was brought
to the Pindi Jail he seemed as hard as a rock,
but now he seemed to be evaporating. At that
time I felt the reality of life.
After silence of a few moments he said; “Rafi,
that’s all?” I said yes by nodding again.
After a brief silence I told Mr. Bhutto that
Begum Bhutto and Benazir met me after
their last meeting with him and the part I
had played in conveying their mercy appeal
to Gen. Zia. At that time I saw that Mr.
Bhutto was feeling very nervous and weak. I
helped him sit on the chair inside the cell. I
told him that by now Begum Sahiba probably
would have met Gen. Zia and I hoped that
Allah would be merciful and would create a
way out of this situation. Mr. Bhutto stood
up from his chair and embraced me. He said,
“You are a brave man. I wish I had met you
earlier.” At that point I felt a slight bit of
trembling in his body, but I could see that his
nervousness had faded away to a great extent
and he looked almost normal.After a short
pause, he said, as if talking to himself, „My
lawyers have messed up this case. Yahya* is
responsible for my hanging. He kept on
telling me all the wrong things. He has
screwed everything up.‰ Then he said that
his party needed a dead- not an alive- Bhutto.
He held my hand when I exclaimed that I was
sorry to hear all that. He said that he was
sorry that his lawyers had not treated me
(Col. Rafi) properly. I told him that I had no
ill feelings about it. Bhutto Sahib said that
Pirzada** & Yahya had given statements
against me in the press. I told him that I had
not been questioned by the authorities and
that he should not worry about these things.
He then thanked me for my kindness and
how I had treated him with honor & dignity.
I also thanked him & reminded him that he
should start writing his will. He wanted me
to sit beside him but I had strict instructions
not to be with him alone. It would have been
very useful to spend some more time with
him and he could have shared a lot of personal feelings with me at that particular time.
But just that moment a warder came in to
deliver some writing material and I had to
leave the cell.

As I have written before, Bhutto
Sahib had never seriously thought
that he would one day be taken to
the gallows. He always thought that
the case was cooked up against
him, was politically motivated and
was without any substance. On the
3rd of April, his wife and daughter
had realized that the government
had decided to hang him. But
Bhutto Sahib still thought that to
be a hoax because the jail authorities had not shown him the execution orders 7 days before the hanging as they were legally supposed to
do.
After that, even after the government officials had informed him at
6 p.m. of his imminent execution,
he was still in doubt. But I believe
all his doubts were washed away
when he asked me what all this
drama was and I had answered
plainly that he was to be executed
that day. I believe that was the time
when he realized that he was face to face with
death. He was human after all and it was but
natural to panic and be afraid when facing
death.
After I left his cell, Mr. Bhutto shaved in the
presence of Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Khawaja Ghulam Rasul at 7:05 p.m.
During the shave he had the following conversation with the Deputy Superintendent:
“Deputy Sahib, where will you find a leader
like me? But why would you need a leader
like me in the first place? I am needed by the
poor, not by the likes of you. I used to make
speeches to mochis (cobblers) at Mochi Gate
because I am a mochi myself. You people are
taking away the leader of the poor from
them. I am a revolutionary. I am a supporter
of the poor. Yaar, if you had to kill me, why
didn‚t you kill me 2 years back? Why didn‚t
you respect me like the whole world does? I
could have been kept in a rest house and
could have been killed with dignity. Today,
the Chairman of the Islamic Council, who
was selected by Muslims all over the world,
cannot even shave on his own. You are standing near me so that I don‚t hurt myself with
the blade. Yes, another thing, yaar... I have
troubled you a lot... please forgive me. You
have forced the other accused in this
case to lie about me so that I can be
hanged and they can go scot free.”
Then he called the sentry who was
on duty outside his cell and told the
Deputy Superintendent to give his
wrist watch to the sentry after his
death.
Tears came into Bhutto Sahib‚s eyes
when at 8:05 p.m. his helper, Abdur
Rehman, brought a cup of coffee at
Bhutto Sahib‚s request. Bhutto Sahib
said to him, „Rehman, please forgive
me if I‚ve ever treated you badly. I
will be hanged anyway and tonight is my last
night with you. I am your guest for just a few
more hours.‰Mr. Bhutto worked on his will
from 8:45 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. After that, for
about 10 minutes, he tried to organize his
mirror, comb, hair brush, prayer mat etc. on
his table.Then, till 9:55 p.m., he brushed his
teeth, washed his face and combed his
hair.After that, for about 5 minutes, he
cleaned the ashes of his cigar and some burnt
papers.
He again started to write from 10:10 p.m. to
11:05 p.m. He then burnt all the papers on
which he had written. The ashes spread all
over in his cell. He called Abdur Rehman and
asked him to clean his cell. He asked the sentry how much time was left. The sentry
replied that there‚s enough time left. Bhutto
Sahib again asked how much time was left
but the sentry remained quiet. Bhutto Sahib
then said to himself that he could probably
sleep for 1-2 hours.

The cell was opened at 11:10 p.m. and helper
Abdur Rehman came in and cleaned the
ashes from the floor. The cell was then closed
and Bhutto Sahib lay down quietly.
At 11:25 p.m. he said that he‚ll try to sleep for
a while because he was not able to sleep
properly last night but you people should
wake me up at 12 a.m. He called out Sanam‚s
(Bhutto Sahib‚s daughter) name a few times
while he was sleeping. At 11:55 p.m.,
Assistant Superintendents Majeed Ahmad
Qureshi & Kazim Hussain Baluch arrived.
They tried to wake Mr. Bhutto from outside,
but he did not respond. Mr. Qureshi telephoned the jail office and asked what he
should do. He was told to enter the cell and
try to wake up Mr. Bhutto. He went inside
but Bhutto Sahib still didn‚t wake up. Mr.
Qureshi informed over the phone that Mr.
Bhutto was not answering, as if he was
unconscious. I got worried at that state of
affairs, as it was my responsibility to ensure
that under no circumstances should Bhutto
Sahib commit suicide. One minute before the
clock struck midnight, I entered the security
ward along with the jail superintendent, the
jail doctor and the magistrate. Bhutto Sahib
was lying on the mattress inside the cell and
his face was towards the cell. Chaudhry Yar
Mohammad & the jail doctor saw that Bhutto
Sahib had opened one eye and after seeing all
of us he closed it at once.
Chaudhry Yar Mohammad and I called Mr.
Bhutto‚s name a few times but to no avail. I
asked the jail doctor to check Mr. Bhutto. The
doctor checked his pulse and then listened to
his heartbeat with a stethoscope and whispered to me that Bhutto Sahib was fine. I
again called Mr. Bhutto‚s name but didn‚t get
a reply. I asked the jail doctor to check Mr.
Bhutto again. The doctor checked him again
and told me that he was fine. I asked the doctor to come outside with me and enquired
why Bhutto Sahib was not answering. The
doctor assured me that Mr. Bhutto was perfectly fine and that I need not worry. He told
me that Mr. Bhutto was only faking. I told
the doctor that he‚ld be responsible if anything happened to Mr. Bhutto and told him
to check Mr. Bhutto again. The doctor
checked for the third time and told me that
he was fine and was just faking.
At 1:10 a.m. in the night, Mr. Bhutto got up

himself. Mr. Qureshi told him that warm
water was available for his shower but Mr.
Bhutto answered that he did not want to
shower anymore.

Execution
According to the orders, Bhutto Sahib was to
be executed on the night of 3-4 April, 1979,
in the presence of Inspector of Jails.
Chaudhry Nazeer Akhtar - who was present
at the Rawalpindi Jail since morning on April
3rd. A stretcher had been arranged keeping in
view Mr. Bhutto‚s physical condition because
of the hunger strike that he had been on.
Arrangements had been made for a few
petromax lamps as the night was extremely
dark and there were thick clouds on the horizon.
The following officials entered the security
ward at 1:35 a.m:
1) - Jail Superintendent, Mr. Yar Mohammad
2) - Security Battalion Commander,

Continued on pg 27

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

Canadian Muslims and Societal Contributions
through Community Involvement

Nadine Miville
How often do we reflect upon the glorious
past of our Muslim nation? The amazing
contributions of Muslim civilization in Spain,
examples of Islamic tolerance during the
reign of the famous Salah-el-din and of
course the incredible contributions Muslims
have made to sciences, mathematics and philosophy? One can explore these contributions
thoroughly and never cease to be amazed by
the incredible milestones we can reflect upon
proudly. Now let us ask ourselves one question: what have we contributed to the Muslim
community and society at large which is
comparable to our wealthy past?.
Muslims have been in Canada since 1871 .
That is only four years after Canada?s founding (post-European contact) and our first
mosque was built in 1938! It is impossible to
say that Islam is new to Canada nor can we
say that it is ?foreign? because Muslims have
established themselves in Canada before
many other nations themselves! What does
that mean to us today?
Let us look around and see what we have
actually contributed to this nation- are there
any resemblances with the tolerance exhibited
by Salah-el-din, or academic contributions as
demonstrated during the height of Islamic
civilization? What about our presence in
community organizations, social development, research, charity? It would be bold to
say that we are not present at all, that would
ignore those humble few that have made conscious efforts to engage publicly in this society which is just as much their own. However,
there is an immense void. It is shameful to
say that many of us do not feel that Canada is
ready for us or that society is too judgemental
for us to integrate properly. Let us ask ourselves this: if Islam has been in Canada since

1871, why are there still misconceptions
about this beautiful deen of ours? Who is to
blame for the lack of understanding, the
intolerance, and the judgement? Has the
media been around convicting Muslims since
1871? There is no doubt, we are to blame.
There is no excuse for us to simply admire
our predecessors in history and hope for a
renewal of this spirit some day. The day
begins today and with us all.
It is necessary for us to reclaim our faith as
Allah asks of us: to be vicegerents on this
earth and to accomplish what our duty is on
this ephemeral earth. Allah tells us repeatedly
in the Qur?an that the true believer, the Godconscious is s/he who constantly establishes
prayer and gives from that which Allah has
bestowed upon him;
On the night of Miraaj (the Prophet’s ascension to heaven), he passed by some people
with metal hooks in their hands who clawed
at their faces and their necks with them.
When he inquired about them, Jibraeel said,
‘These are the people who eat the flesh of
human beings and disgrace them.’” [Abu
Dawud].
(2:2) This is the Book; in it is guidance sure,
without doubt, to those who fear Allah (al
muttaqeen);
(2:3) Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have
bestowed upon them;
Allah tells us constantly that after we accomplish our prayers we engage in zakah, in charity, in purification of the soul, in giving of
what Allah has bestowed upon us. The blessings we receive from Allah are countless,
among them: our strengths, our talents, our
energy, our intelligence, our Islam. If the
message of Islam was shared properly with
our neighbors we would not feel misunder-

stood in this nation which is rightfully ours
as well. It is time to give to our communities,
Muslim and non-Muslim alike, it is time for
Muslims to step up to the plate and engage,
be active participants of society, give in charity through our time because one of the most
precious things which Allah bestows upon us
, and is irretrievable, is time. To give your
time to a cause and to the community is worthy of great reward. It is when we give that
Allah increases your rewards, just as when
you give money for the sake of Allah, you
always find it returned to you, time will
stretch for us once we engage in blessed
actions.
If we do not step up today, when will it happen? 137 years of Muslims in Canada, yet little traces are to be found. Mosques, which are
the foundations for our communities have
existed for 70 years yet we have yet to expand
and create civic institutions and social agencies for our own Muslim communities!
?And keep thy soul content with those who
call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass
beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of
this Life; nor obey any whose heart We have
permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us,
one who follows his own desires, whose case
has gone beyond all bounds.?18:28
With all of the opportunities that we have
today in Canada, educational, professional
and most importantly the free practice of
Islam, there are no excuses for misunderstanding and intolerance towards us, it is our
job today to step up as citizens in this nation
and spend from what Allah has bestowed
upon us. The ball is in our court, now is the
time to make a change.
Here are some practical steps we can all take
in the development of our community:

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1. Support already existing academic, social
services, Islamic outreach and community
service institutions in your community
instead of ?reinventing the wheel?
2. Put your skills and talents to work in an
Islamic organization i.e. journalists can help
develop media teams at mosques to handle
press inquiries and draft press releases
3. Request institutions to offer culture-sensitivity training about Islam in civic institutions ie. dietary concerns in hospitals; prayer
accommodation in the workplace
4. Establish support groups for new immigrants i.e. ESL classes, classes on understanding and accessing civic institutions in Canada
5. Establish scholarships to promote
enhanced academic performance in the
Muslim community ie. scholarships in journalism to students who meet excellent academic standards
6. Increase our awareness and that of the
Muslim community of local issues and how
they affect the community at large to increase
our participation and visibility individually
and as a group i.e. learn about your local
politician and get involved in issues that
affect the community.
7. Participate in inter-generational learning
settings to bond the community together i.e.
study groups dealing with current day issues
from an Islamic perspective geared towards
parents and youth together.
Nadine Miville is currently an (MA) Candidate
in International Development Studies. She
obtained a(BA)International Development
Studies and Social Anthropology from Saint
Mary’s University. She worked for 2 years in an
Islamic school and is devoted to social justice
issues relevant to Muslim women in Canada and
abroad.

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

PCCA Celebrates Pakistan Republic Day
An unforgettable patriotic gala evening
Reported by Naadia Nadeem
Keeping its long tradition of setting up, PCCA yet once
again produced an evening to Kick off celebration of the
year. To mark the celebration of 71st anniversary of the
resolution, PCCA organized a gala that included speeches
from Scholars, Politicians and religious leader, performances by children and live band and off course delicious
food. One important inclusion this year was the first ever
community award presentation, it was a long await recognition of prominent individuals and business from all
walks of life.
Among other first was awarding medal and recognizing
children from our community who performed extra ordinary and stood with distinction in their schools. PCCA
picked the best crop of the students. Congratulations to all
the children receiving the medals, good luck to all other
and keep up the good work for the next year. Mr. Naveed
Waraich, General Secretary of PCCA, also announced that
in order to focus on achievements from individuals and
businesses and recognize them it will be a separate ceremony for this award presentation next year name as PCCA
COMMUNITY AWARDS 2011.
Present among the guest were Honorable Consulate
General of Pakistan Mr. Shuja Alam, Honorable MP Mr.
Sukh Dhaliwal MP Mr. H. Bains, Honorable MLA’s Mr.
Dave Hayer, Sue Hammel, Jagroop Barar, School Trustee
Ijaz Chatha and many others. First ever senator from
Pakistani origin
Mr. Nasar Khan, President of PCCA, thanked all the dignitaries and distinguished guest for talking time off their
busy schedule and honoring this event, he also shed some
light on importance of two nations’ formula that led to the
creation of Pakistan and moving forward with cooperation
between two neighboring nations. He also acknowledged
and thanked all the volunteers for their time and efforts in
making the evening a wonderful one.
It is an important part of PCCA’s agenda to build strong
kids among the community and continuing to our tradition of “Kids First” this year’s Kids Tablo Dance on “Salam
Pakistan” performed by Sofia, Marina, Javeria and Saleha

was a breathtaking performance at the stage. Soon after
another slamming hit of the evening was kids fancy dress
show, it was the highlight of the evening, credit goes to
some of leading ladies of our community, Ms. Nadia
Nadeem, Mrs. Sakina Talib, Mrs. Waricah, Mrs. Nasarullah
Khan, Sadaf Amir, Uzma Erum, Sarma and Ramsha Tariq.
They spent hours and hours to prepare these kids for the
fashion show and all these kids raised to the occasion.
The mesmerizing moment was the last segment of the
show when Samiya Zia came out with a big Pakistani flag
and beautiful kids in their beautiful Pakistani outfits lined
up singing “Ess parcham key sayey talay hum aik hain!”
They stood united and waved the flag with such a patriotic spirit that brought tears in eyes of almost every person
in the room. God bless Pakistan, God bless our kids and
Pakistan Zindabad.
Speaking of Fashion shows Mr. Rizwan Shawl did a
tremendous. The song selection was commendable and
took several of the audience into the memory
lane of Pakistan. It
would be unfair not to
recognize Jasmene
Barar, Mr.Sufian Khan,
Sukhi Walia who captivated and entertained
the audience with their
magical voice by singing
many beautiful songs.

PCCA thank all our sponsors just because of them this
show was possible. Last but not least thanks to Mr. Tauseef
Wariach, Sehrish Ijaz Saarmah Azhar and Mr. Bilal Tarar
and everyone in PCCA team. Bringing a complete soldout show with over 1000 attendees wasn’t an easy task. It
will be remembered for a long time and leave everybody
singing PCCA tunes.

Japan radioactivity could enter food chain, kids at risk
Radioactive materials spewed into the air
by Japan's earthquake-crippled nuclear
plant may contaminate food and water
resources, with children and unborn babies
most at risk of possibly developing cancer.
Japanese officials said that more radiation
was released at a nuclear plant disastrously
damaged by last week's tsunami. Prime
Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had
spread from four reactors.
"The level seems very high, and there is still
a very high risk of more radiation coming
out," he said.
Even a meltdown would not necessarily
mean medical doom, experts said. It
depends on the amount and type of
radioactive materials.
Donald Olander, professor emeritus of
nuclear engineering at the University of
California at Berkeley, said even the much
higher levels of radiation are "not a health
hazard."
Experts said any exposure to radioactive
materials has the potential to cause various
kinds of cancers, with higher levels of radiation seen as more dangerous. Thyroid
cancer is the most immediate risk, and the
Japanese government made plans to distribute potassium iodide pills to prevent it.
Worse case scenarios — lots of radioactive
fallout — can lead to other cancers years
later.

Japanese officials have evacuated 180,000
people from areas near the troubled reactors, where relatively minimal fallout was
mostly confined at first. They've told people still in the area to wear masks, which
can keep radioactive particles from being
inhaled.
Most importantly, they have stockpiled and
are making plans to give out potassium
iodide — pills that can keep radioactive
iodine from being taken up by the thyroid
gland and causing cancer.
"Those are all preventable cancers" if the
protective pills are taken right after exposure, said University of New Mexico radiologist Dr. Fred Mettler.
Experts said they needed more accurate
measurements for the level of radioactivity
in Japan, and the region, to give a proper
risk assessment.
"The explosions could expose the population to longer-term radiation, which can
raise the risk of cancer. These are thyroid
cancer, bone cancer and leukemia.
Children and fetuses are especially vulnerable," said Lam Ching-wan, chemical
pathologist at the University of Hong
Kong.
"For some individuals even a small amount
of radiation can raise the risk of cancer.
The higher the radiation, the higher the
risk of cancer," said Lam, who is also a

INVISIBLE SCARS
By Shabnam Khan - Family Counsellor
So far I have written numerous articles
regarding Parenting Styles and building a
strong relationship with your
children. The
Parent-Child
bonding starts
from birth and
follows through
the years to
come. Growing
up in Canada, it
sometimes
becomes challenging for the
Parents as well as the Children who has to
adapt to western world. The children no
doubt look up to their parents for love, support and right decisions when it comes to
handling their questions and concerns and
their protection! It does not matter how big
or small their concerns are, it has to be
addressed in a appropriate and mature
manner.
Recently I attended a community cultural
event and it was quite shocking to hear how
one of the organizing members ill-treated
my daughter before her stage performance.
Few minutes before her performance, the so
called organizing member called her back
stage and told her “ if my daughter’s are not
performing today, I will not let you recite
the whole song (the song was for our
beloved Prophet Mohammed S.A.W)”PBUH and pushed her on the stage. This
attitude is totally unexpected from such
respected and so called leader! As a concerned parent, I am taking further action
for his rude and inappropriate behavior to
my daughter. When we called, he denied
that he said it and later twisted the story
that he said something else! We were told by
him to contact the other organizing member who according to him was handling it.
When we contacted the other organizing
member, the whole incident was mentioned
to him. Without trying to solve this issue,
he said “just go do whatever you want to
do”.
In addition, this same organizing member

also contacted us to do the video recording
for that day’s program in a short notice.
Since my nephew refused to do this volunteer work, he was also ill-treated at the
event! My nephew wanted to volunteer with
other stuffs but this same organizing member came to him and yelled at him few
times and said “we don’t need your help; we
have enough people so go inside”.
Being a leader, what kind of image are they
portraying to our children? These leaders
always say that they want youths to be
involved in cultural events but what is happening here? This is the reason that our
youths are pulling themselves away into the
western society where they are at least treated with love and respect. It is totally painful
to see that such an act is still happening
around us and by our so called leaders.
Children deserve the same level of Respect
and Dignity as an adult. They have emotions and they are very sensitive. My request
to all parents is that whenever they have any
concerns, please listen to them and try to
play your role as a responsible parent.
As a parent, you are their Role Model! If
you, yourself are weak and always trying to
hide things from them and not teaching
them the right from wrong, they will grow
up to be like that when they are an adult as
well. Secondly, if your child does come to
you with their concerns and you do nothing
about it, do you think they’ll come to you if
something happens later in their life? They
know that you will do nothing about it.
They will be very reluctant to discuss anything with you. This behavior slowly starts
building up and as they grow, there is a barrier that starts creating between the parent
and the child. They get drifted towards their
friends and if they get influenced by the
peer pressure, there is a high chance that
children can end up in bad habits. Do you
think you’ll have any control or say at that
time? You were not there when they needed
you, and why would they listen to you now?
Yes, you are the parent, but what happened
when they needed you the most? Were you
there for them?
To Win Without
Fighting is the best of Skills!
Email: shabnamsk@hotmail.com

member on the American Board of
Toxicologists.
Radioactive material is carried by minute
moisture droplets in the air. It can then be
directly inhaled into the lungs, get washed
down by rain into the sea and onto soil,
and eventually contaminate crops, marine
life and drinking water.
Cow milk was also especially vulnerable,
experts said, if cows graze on grass exposed
to radiation.

Japanese scientist who treated victims of
the atom bomb explosion in Hiroshima.
"Cows are like vacuum cleaners, picking up
radioactive iodine that lands over a wide
area of pasture, and then those particles
very easily are concentrated and pass into
the milk," said the expert, who declined to
be identified. "This was what happened in
Chernobyl, and unfortunately, information
about the risk had not been supplied to
parents."

How much radiation is dangerous?
Lee Tin-lap, toxicologist and associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong
Kong's School of Medical Sciences, said
waters around Japan must be measured for
radioactivity.
"No one is measuring the levels of radiation in the sea," Lee told Reuters.
"Steam that is released into the air will
eventually get back into the water and sea
life will be affected ... once there is rain,
drinking water will also be contaminated."

DNA mutations
The World Health Organization said on
Tuesday Japan was taking the correct measures to protect its population from
radioactivity, including evacuations and
stocking up on potassium iodide, an antidote to radiation. Radiation is dangerous
because it can cause changes or mutations
in DNA, which may then go on to cause
cancer. While the human body can repair
DNA changes or damage, a person is only
safe if the repair process happens faster
than the time it takes for the damaged or
mutated DNA material to replicate.
Most experts agree that growing children
and fetuses are most at risk because their
cells divide at a faster rate than adults.
They also consume more cow milk than
adults, putting them at further risk, said a

1 Radiation is measured using the unit
sievert, which quantifies the amount of
radiation absorbed by human tissues. One
sievert is 1,000 millisieverts (mSv).
In the U.S., the average person is exposed
to about 6.2 millisieverts a year, mostly
from background radiation and medical
tests.
Some facts about radiation exposure:
• A person would need to be exposed to at
least 100 mSv a year to have an increase in
cancer risk. Exposure to 1,000 mSv during
a year would probably cause a fatal cancer
many years later in five out of every 100
people.
• Total body CT scan: about 10 mSv.
• Mammogram: about 0.7 mSv.
• CT colonography: about 5 to 8 mSv.
• CT heart scan: about 12 mSv.
• Typical chest X-ray: about 0.02 mSv
• Dental X-ray: 0.01 mSv.
• Coast-to-coast airplane flight: about .03
mSv. Airline crews flying the New YorkTokyo polar route are exposed to 9 mSv a
year.
Sources: Reuters; New England Journal of
Medicine; American Cancer Society; World
Nuclear Association and Taiwan's Atomic
Energy Council

Al-Mustafa Academy
Is looking for the following candidates for
its Early Childhood Educator
program in Surrey:

• Child Care Manager
• Assistant Manager
We are looking for candidates who are:
Child Care Professionals, Has the ability and demonstrates a commitment to
children and the Early Childhood Profession, Has a positive outlook with a
belief in the ethic of caring and inclusion.
Child Care Manager:
• Plan and develop child care and Montessori school programs,
• Provide supervision and guidance of daily activities, field trips and special activities,
• Provide opportunity for creative expression through the mediums of art, dramatic play.
• Assess the developmental level of children,
• Prepare progress reports and discuss with parents and other staff members, Knowledge of Day
care Act,
• Knowledge of licensing regulations,
• Establish guidelines for behavior disciplines, work priorities
• Ensure deadlines are met and procedures followed

Assistant Manager::
• Provide supervision and guidance of daily activities, field trips and special activities,
• Conduct and monitor activity programs designed for young children,
• Prepare craft materials and assist children to use them,
• Guide children in development of proper eating, dressing and necessary habits,
• Prepare and serve snacks,
• Observe children and report observations to Manager.
• As a member of our team you will be working in our Preschool room with children 3-5 1/2 years
of age. You will be expected to plan and organize activities appropriate for this age group.
Requirements:
- AMI Trained Montessori Teacher and/or ECE Licensed Teacher
- First Aid Certificate
- Child Protection Criminal Background Check
- Letter of Conduct and References
Candidate will also have:
Excellent People skills, Strategic thinking, Visionary, Flexible/adaptable to change,Self-management,Team player, Solve-complex problems, Ethical/high personal standards
Please email your resume to : Sr. Nabila Jaffer at Nabila_128@hotmail.com

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Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE

MIR A LE

Cairo's on-field fan violence probed

Egyptian soccer was thrown further into disarray after the
Confederation of African Football said it will investigate a
violent field invasion by fans of Cairo club Zamalek in an
African Champions League match. CAF said Monday in a
statement that its disciplinary body will meet in
Johannesburg in April to consider reports by match officials after home fans rushed the field at Cairo Stadium to
attack the referee and visiting players Saturday during a
game against Tunisian team Club Africain. With the game
tied at 1 and Club Africain leading 5-3 on aggregate,
Algerian referee Mohamed Meknoz disallowed a Zamalek
goal for offside 3 minutes into injury time, prompting the
violence. The match was abandoned soon after. "CAF reiterates its call to all National Associations, clubs, players
and supporters to help enforce and promote the spirit of
fair play in all CAF competitions," the statement added.
No exact date for the CAF disciplinary meeting was given.
Another Cairo club, Al Ahly, is due to host a Champions
League game at the same stadium in early May. Zamalek

could face a three-year ban from African club competition.
The Egyptian Football Association also responded to the
violence -- where stick-wielding fans clashed with police
and supporters damaged the goal posts -- by postponing
the planned return of the country's domestic soccer
league. In an emergency meeting Sunday, its second in
four days, the EFA apologized to Club Africain and said
the Egyptian league would not resume next week, as it had
announced Thursday. EFA president Samir Zaher was also
part of a group of officials that visited the Tunisian
embassy in Cairo to make a formal apology to the ambassador, the EFA said. "The Board of Directors of the
Egyptian Football Association and the president, Samir
Zaher, apologize to the Tunisian people and Tunisia's Club
Africain after the unfortunate events that took place in the
Zamalek match," EFA said on its website. On Thursday,
the EFA had announced there was an agreement for
domestic soccer to resume on April 13 after it was postponed in early February because of the revolution that

removed long-standing Egypt president Hosni Mubarak
from power. "We will hold a series of meetings with officials to discuss the situation and the final solutions for the
resumption of the competition," Zaher said on Sunday
after confirming the league had been postponed for a second time. Zaher added the EFA was considering holding
matches behind closed doors to avoid a repeat of the violence. CAF is almost certain to impose sanctions on
Zamalek, but could also punish the EFA by taking games
away from Cairo. Al Ahly is set to host Zambia's Zesco
United at 75,000-seat Cairo Stadium in its last 16 tie on
the weekend of May 7 and 8 and Egypt's struggling
national team is scheduled to play a crucial 2012 African
Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa at the venue
in June. Seven-time African champion Egypt's poor recent
form, which has left it bottom of its qualifying group and
in danger of missing the continental championship for the
first time in 30 years, led the EFA to call its first emergency
meeting last week. Source: ESPN

Dhoni and Gambhir
lead India to World
Cup glory
Twenty-eight years
on from the match
that transformed
the history of
world cricket,
India recaptured
the crown that
Kapil Dev and his
men first lifted at
Lord's in 1983, and
this time they did
so in their very
own back yard. An
iron-willed 97
from Gautam
Gambhir was
matched for intensity by the finest captain's innings since Ricky
Ponting in Johannesburg eight years ago, as MS Dhoni trumped a
poetic century from Mahela Jayawardene to pull off the highest runchase ever achieved in a World Cup final. Against a triumphant
backdrop at the Wankhede Stadium, victory was sealed by six wickets
with 10 balls to spare, as Dhoni - who had promoted himself to No.
5 to heap extra lashings of responsibility onto his own shoulders rushed through the gears as the victory target drew nearer. With 15
required from 17 balls, he flicked Sri Lanka's only true threat, Lasith
Malinga, through midwicket for consecutive boundaries, before
smoking Nuwan Kulasekara over long-on to finish on 91 not out
from 79 balls, and spark the most delirious scenes of celebration ever
seen on the subcontinent. However, the final margin did little justice
to the tussle that had preceded it. Even the toss ended up being disputed, as Kumar Sangakkara's initial call was drowned out by the
crowd, but it was the ebb and flow of Zaheer Khan's day that epitomised the fluctuations of a compelling contest. Zaheer opened his
account with three consecutive maidens and the scalp of Upul
Tharanga in a peerless spell of 5-3-6-1, only to be clobbered for 17
and 18 runs in his ninth and tenth overs, as Sri Lanka monstered 63
runs in the batting Powerplay to post an imposing 274 for 6. And
India's day got much worse before the team's fortunes began to inch
upwards. Virender Sehwag had hit a boundary from the first ball of
six of India's previous eight innings in the tournament, but this time
Malinga's slingers dealt him a second-ball duck, as he skidded a full
delivery into his back pad. And then Sachin Tendulkar, for whom the
script had seemingly been written, was drawn into a loose drive by a
fast Malinga outswinger, having set the stadium on standby for
instant history with 18 sumptuously accumulated runs from his first
12 deliveries. At 31 for 2 in the seventh over, India were struggling to
keep their toehold in the contest, and it was all too much for a faithless few in the crowd who turned their backs and set off for home.
But Gambhir and Virat Kohli epitomise a generation that does not
easily accept defeat, and their third-wicket stand of 83 laid the foundations for an epic turnaround. The prospect of a seam-friendly surface, allied to the grievous loss of Angelo Mathews to a thigh strain,
had tempted Sri Lanka into four key changes to the team that had
triumphed over New Zealand in Colombo, and with Muttiah
Muralitharan lacking bite in the final wicketless appearance of his
19-year career, Malinga alone could not carry the day.
Source: Cricinfo

UCONN DEFEATS BUTLER TO
CAPTURE NCAA TITLE
UConn defeated Butler 53-41 in a low-scoring championship game. Jim Calhoun (pictured) captured his third title with UConn
since 1999. Led by their defense, the Huskies stifled Butlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offense and kept the tournamentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Outstanding Player
Shelvin Mack to 13 points.

NDP : Continued from pg 15
hold among New Democrats on Tuesday. The
reported expulsion -- and/or exclusion -- of real
or perceived opponents from Harper rallies only
added to the incredulous tone. "Just because you
have a different opinion, you can't walk into the
room with the prime minister, that's wrong,"
Layton said. "And every Canadian should be worried about that, especially when the people he is
letting into the room have the kind of record Mr.
Carson has." The revelations came as Layton has
faced increasing questions about the familiarity of
many of the NDP's policy announcements, which
have contained recycled promises from previous
campaigns and ideas that have already been talked
about, with the occasional tweak here and there.
"We're mixing the best ideas of the past with the
new ideas of today," he said. The prime minister
acknowledged knowing that Carson had been
convicted in one case involving two counts of
fraud, but not in another case involving three.
Layton said he doesn't believe Harper, and he

claimed most Canadians don't either. And just to
emphasize the point, he repeated his entire condemnation in French rather alternating between languages
as he does most often. The NDP's policy plank
Tuesday centred on measures to help the so-called
"sandwich generation" -- people who care for aging
parents and young children at the same time. One in
four Canadians cared for a seriously ill member of
their family at home in the last 12 months. Layton is
promising a retro-fit program to help families
upgrade houses when elderly parents move in. It's
modeled on an existing program in Manitoba and
would provide forgivable loans to a maximum of
$35,000. He also pledges to expand the compassionate-care provisions under employment insurance by
extending leaves to six months from six weeks. The
NDP also say they'd introduce a so-called caregiver
benefit, similar to the existing Child Tax Benefit, to
assist middle- and low-income households with the
extra burden of caring for family members. It would
be worth $1,500 per year. In total, the NDP's caregivers plan would cost the federal treasury $1.3 billion.
Source: CTV News

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27
Z.Bhutto : Continued from pg 14
Lieutenant Colonel Rafi-ud-Din
3) - Magistrate First Class, Mr. Bashir
Ahmad Khan
4) - Jail Doctor, Mr. Sagheer Hussain Shah
5) ˆ Deputy Superintendent Jail, Khawaja
Ghulam Rasool
Assistant Superintendents of Jail Majeed
Ahmed Qureshi, Kazim Hussain Baluch,
Mahabat Khan and warders selected by the
Jail Superintendent also followed the above
mentioned officials up to the security ward.
Inspector of Jails Chaudhry Nazeer Akhtar
went straight to the gallows from his office.
Additional army personnel had been
deployed on the route from the security
ward to the gallows.The officials entered
Mr. Bhutto‚s cell. Bhutto Sahib was awake
and was resting on the mattress. Magistrate
Mr. Bashir Ahmad Khan asked him whether
he wanted to leave any will. Bhutto Sahib
remained quiet. He had turned yellow and
pale and seemed very weak physically. His
voice was barely audible because of weakness. He said something to the effect:
I went near him and said as I bent over
him, „Sir, are you able to walk or shall we
pick you up?‰ He did not answer me, but
kept looking into my eyes. I again repeated
my question after a while. He kept on looking at me like that and then said, „I pity.‰
(He said something else also but we could
not understand what it was).I again leaned
forward and told him that I could not
understand what he said. He repeated the
same sentence again but I could not comprehend the last one or two words. I bent
fully upon him and said, „Excuse me Sir,
but I did not understand what you
said.‰After a pause and with a lot of effort
he said, „IHe was in a very sad state at that
time. May be what he wanted to say was
that he could not walk but he also did not
want to be carried. May be he was thinking
that his wife could have given him support,
had she been present.
The magistrate again came forward and
asked him if he wanted to write a will.
Bhutto Sahib remained quiet. The magistrate repeated his question. Bhutto Sahib
replied, „Yes∑I∑would∑like∑to∑dic
tate.‰At that moment, the time was up
and the jail superintendent ordered the
head warder to call his men inside and to
lift up Mr. Bhutto. Four warders entered the
ward. Two of them grabbed Mr. Bhutto‚s
feet and two his arms, and lifted him up.
While he was being lifted, Mr. Bhutto said,
“Leave me.“
Mr. Bhutto‚s back was almost touching the
floor while he was being brought out of the
cell. The lower part of his shirt got entangled in the warder‚s shoes and I heard the
sound of the shirt being torn. He was put
on the stretcher in the lawn. His hands were
placed on his stomach and he was handcuffed. In the meanwhile, helper Abdur
Rehman came with the cup of tea that
Bhutto Sahib had ordered before we had
entered his cell. I wondered: "on the other
side of the Jail house‚s wall, in the Prime
Minister House, Mr. Bhutto used to get
anything that he wished for, from anywhere
in the world. And today he could not even
fulfill his simple wish of having a cup of
tea."

he four warders lifted the stretcher from
each corner. Bhutto Sahib lifted his head
but remained motionless otherwise. His feet
were yellow as if all the blood had been
sucked out of him. He remained motionless
till we reached near the gallows. The
warders put the stretcher down on the
ground near the gallows. Two of the
warders put their arms under Mr. Bhutto‚s
arm pits and helped him stand up on the
plank of the gallows. I was the one closest
to Mr. Bhutto. I was just keeping my feet
away from the wooden plank of the gallows,
but my ears were only a few feet away from

Issue 281 - Jamadi ul Awaal 4, 1432 / April 8, 2011 THE
his face. His handcuffs were removed, his
hands and arms pushed to his back with a
forceful jerk, and he was handcuffed again.
In the meanwhile Tara Masih (the executioner) came and placed a mask over his
face. He was either having trouble breathing
because of the mask or he was feeling pain
because of the way his arms were twisted
when he was handcuffed. He said,
„These‰. May be he wanted to say: " these
are hurting me." I was very close to him. I
had come so close to him, while avoiding
the plank, that the distance between his face
and my ears was not more than 1 or 2 feet.
But I could not hear his last sentence.At
exactly 2:04 a.m. on 4th April, 1979, the
executioner pressed the lever and Bhutto
Sahib was executed. I climbed down the
stairs to reach one level below to where Mr.
Bhutto‚s body was hanging. I saw that Mr.
Bhutto‚s body was moving slightly but that
was because of the momentum of the body
falling down. He was certainly dead at that
time. I went and sat down near the
Inspector of Jails on one of the chairs that
had been placed near Mr. Bhutto‚s hanging
body.The scene of Bhutto Sahib‚s hanging
body is something that I have never been
able to forget. I shiver even now when I
think of that moment again. After a few
minutes I saw someone moving Mr.
Bhutto‚s body. I asked Chaudhry Yar
Mohammad who it was. Instead of him, IG
Prisons spoke up and told me that it was
Tara Masih and he was straightening the
arms & the legs so that the body would not
get twisted due to spasms.
Mr. Bhutto‚s Burial
Half an hour after the hanging, and after
the jail doctor had issued the death certificate, Bhutto Sahib‚s hanging body was
taken down at 2:35 a.m. His dead body was
given a bath, the arrangements for which
had already been made at the spot. A photographer, who had been sent by an intelligence agency, took some photographs of
Mr. Bhutto (of Mr. Bhutto‚s private parts,
which the author also mentioned in an earlier chapter). The authorities wanted to
confirm whether Mr. Bhutto had been circumcised in Islamic manner or not. After
the photographs were taken, it was confirmed that he was circumcised in the
Islamic way.His body was then placed in a
wooden casket and was sent towards
Chaklala Airport. I also had to accompany
Mr. Bhutto on this journey. I conducted this
caravan to PAF Chaklala where a VIP C-130
was waiting for us. Bhutto Sahib‚s casket
was loaded on to the plane along with a few
other boxes and the plane started its journey towards Jacobabad. While the plane was
over Sakesar (which is near Mianwali), I
was told that there was some technical fault
and the plane had to be taken back to
Rawalpindi where another plane would take
us to Jacobabad.Another C-130 was waiting
for us at Chaklala. Bhutto Sahib‚s casket
was loaded onto the plane and we again
started our journey towards Jacobabad. We
landed at Jacobabad Airport on the morning of 4th April, a few minutes before 7 a.m.
A helicopter was waiting for us.
Commanding Officer of 7 Punjab
Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad
Sadiq, received Bhutto Sahib‚s casket from
me, had it placed in the helicopter and then
took off for Nau Dero. Mr. Bhutto was
buried in a grave already dug for him in
Garhi Khuda Baksh.
* Yahya Bakhtiar, was one of Mr. Bhutto‚s
lawyers
** Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, another of Mr.
Bhutto‚s lawyers.
This article is an abridged translation of one
of the chapters from Col Rafi ud Din‚s Urdu
book “Bhutto kay akhri 323 din” (The last 323
days of Mr. Bhutto). Col. Rafi ud Din was the
Special Security Superintendent of the
Rawalpindi Jail.

MIR A LE

Public Announcements
Dear Concerned Community Member:
In the effort to better serve our community we would like you to take few minutes from
your precious time to complete the following survey. Your input is very valuable. You can
either complete the survey online (www.iqraschool.com/survey.aspx) or complete the
attached form and mail it to the following address

14590 – 116A Ave, Surrey, BCV3R 2V1
Jazaakumullaahu khayran.

Iqra Islamic School Admin
1. Should Iqra School have a weekend school program? Yes / No
2. Are you interested in enrolling your child/ren in a weekend school
program at Iqra? Yes / No
3. Number of children planning to enroll ________
4. Should the weekend school program continue throughout
the summer? Yes / No
5. If you answered yes in question 4, are you planning to enroll your children in
weekend
school program for summer 2011?
6. What would you like to see in a weekend program?

Dear Pakistan Canada Association

(PCA) Members,
As you may be aware from the Notice issued by Mr. Raza
Mirani, General Secretary of the PCA, annual Elections for
the PCA executives will be held
on Sunday April 24th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
at the Jamia Masjid, located at 655 - West 8th Avenue in
Vancouver, BC.
Please make a note: All Completed Nomination Forms for a position must be sent to
the Election Committee Members by mail or delivered in person on or before April
10, 2011, at 6:00 Pacific Time.
For additional details, guidelines and requirements to participate in this election
please refer to the PCA’s Notice of "Annual General Body Meeting" issued on Mar 14,
2011.
The Election Committee Members are:
Mr. Khuram Rai Mr. Mansur Mirani and Mr. Mumtaz Rana
Tel: 604. 512-3235 604. 724-9461
604. 218-0213
To further facilitate the Nomination process and or to collect Nomination Envelopes
etc., it has been very kindly agreed by the Committee Members that:
1. Mr. Khuarm Rai will be available in person at the Pakistan House in Surrey on
Sunday April 10, 2011 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.
2. Mr. Mansur Mirani will be available in person at the Jamia Masjid on West 8th
Avenue in Vancouver from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
In case you need additional; information or assistance, please call me at telephone
number (604) 218-0213 between 6:00 PM and 9:00PM daily.
Thank you for your consideration and continued support.
We look forward to meeting you on April 24th.
Yours Very Truly,
Mumtaz Rana, The PCA Election Committee

PICS

Assists Low-Income Individuals and Families

with Filing of Annual Income Tax Returns
There are a number of low income individuals and families who need assistance when filing their annual income tax returns. For many people dealing with a tax return could simply be a matter of inconvenience, and for others it could be a financial burden. Progressive
Intercultural Community Services Society is offering free income tax filing services for
people living in Surrey, North Delta and adjoining areas. The eligibility criteria are as follows:
· Single individual with an annual income up to $25,000
· Couples with a combined annual income up to $35,000
· An adult with one child with an annual income up to $30,000 and increase the income
limit by $2000 for each dependent child
· Income from interest(s) should not exceed $1,000
Anyone fulfilling the criteria for our income tax filing services can contact the PICS Surrey
Settlement Office.
Waqar Jan(PICS) Tel: 604 596-7525
waqar.ahmad@pics.bc.ca

Pak Diamond and Kitchen Cabinets is looking for one Full time, Permanent
laborer for their shop located at # 108, 7750-128 street, Surrey, BC, V3W 0R6.
Duties include: assist machine operators, clean work areas and perform
other labouring activities. English is not a requirement,
Punjabi (Pakistan) is an asset.

Email resume to: Pak_Diamond_Kitchen_cabinets@hotmail.com

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After the Great Success of First ever Pakistani Musical
Contest of its Kind in BC

THE MIRACLE MEDIA GROUP

Proudly Presents

A Memorable Evening in Tribute to late
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Let's Prove once again that Our Talent is no less than Others!
Singers of all ages will be competing for:
Best Singer Awards
Special Popularity Award(From Public)
Musician Award
Plus Prize Draw for Ticket Holders!